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Prostatic Hypertrophy/Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH)
Published in Charles Theisler, Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
Beta-sitosterol (e.g., Super Beta Prostate), a phytosterol, 60-130 mg/day in a systematic review decreased symptoms of BPH and increased urinary output, but did not shrink enlarged prostates.9,11 Because pumpkin seeds contain beta-sitosterol some studies recommend taking 10 gm of pumpkin seed extract daily for BPH symptoms.12
Catalog of Herbs
Published in James A. Duke, Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, 2018
Many alkaloids are reported from this species: 1,2-dehydroaspidospermidine, eburna-menine, eburnamine, eburnamonene, epivincamine, 14-epivincamine, isoburnamine, iso-vincarnine, methoxyminovincine, 16-methoxy-20-oxo-l-vin-cadifformine, methoxy-vincamine, yV-methylaspidospermidine, minorine, minovincine, minovincinine, mino vine, perivincine, pubescine, quebrachamine, reserpine, strictamine, vincadifformine, vincadine, vincamidine, vincamine (0.062 to 0.168% in cultivars, 0.033 to 0.073 in wild), vincaminine, vincaminoridine, vincaminorine, vincarorine, vincine, vincinine, vincoridine, vincorine, vinine, vinoxine, and vintsine. The alkaloidal content of the leaves, according to Hungarian analyses, varied from 0.11 to 7.06% (dry matter), and vincamine content from 0.02 to 1.75% (also dry matter). The total alkaloidal content of the roots from different countries varied from 1.24to 1.98%. Nonalkaloidal constituents include a number of acids, 1-glutamate carboxylase (leaves), 1-bornesitol and the enzyme forming the same, dambonitol, ornol, phenols, rubber (2.0 to 2.2% in the plant; 1.1% in the leaves), ursolic acid (0.24 to 1.34% in the plant; 0.14 to 3.7% in the leaves), beta-sitosterol, saponin, 3-beta-d-gIucosyloxy-2-hydroxybenzoic acid (leaves, an amorphorus and bitter but odorless glucoside called vin-coside, 1%), flavonoid glycosides including robinin (present in the flowers, 0.4%) and delphinidin-3,5-diglycoside.1 The decoction contains tannin. The leaf ash yields the glucoside C-beta-i/-glucosyloxy-2-hydroxybenzoic acid as well as ursolic acid. Flowers yield 0.4% robinoside. Leaves contain the anticancer agent beta-sitosterol.
Pharmacology of p-sitosterol and other Sterols
Published in Amritpal Singh Saroya, Contemporary Phytomedicines, 2017
The metabolism of p-sitosterol was compared to that of cholesterol in 12 patients. Sterol balance methods were supplemented by radio sterol studies, with the following results.Plasma concentrations of p-sitosterol ranged from 0.30 to 1.02 mg/100 ml plasma in patients on intakes of p-sitosterol typical of the American diet. Plasma levels were raised little when intakes were increased greatly, and on fixed intakes they were constant from week to week. On diets devoid of plant sterols, the plasma and feces rapidly became free of beta-sitosterol.The percentage of esterified p-sitosterol in the plasma was the same as for cholesterol. However, the rate of esterification of beta-sitosterol was slower than that for cholesterol.Specific activity-time curves after simultaneous pulse labeling with p-sitosterol-(3)H and cholesterol-(14)C conformed to two-pool models. The two exponential half-lives of p-sitosterol were much shorter than for cholesterol, and pool sizes were much smaller.Values of turnover for p-sitosterol obtained by the sterol balance method agreed closely with those derived by use of the two-pool model. Absorption of p-sitosterol was 5% (or less) of daily intake, while cholesterol absorption ranged from 45 to 54% of intake.About 20% of the absorbed p-sitosterol was converted to cholic (Fig. 19.2) and chenodeoxycholic acids (Fig. 19.3). The remainder was excreted in bile as free sterol; this excretion was more rapid than that of cholesterol.The employment of p-sitosterol as an internal standard to correct for losses of cholesterol in sterol balance studies is further validated by the results presented here (Salen et al. 1970).
Mexican hawthorn (Crataegus gracilior J. B. Phipps) stems and leaves induce cell death on breast cancer cells
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2020
Juan Maldonado-Cubas, Exsal M. Albores-Méndez, Eduardo San Martín-Martínez, Cinthya N. Quiroz-Reyes, Gerardo E. González-Córdova, Rocio G. Casañas-Pimentel
Beta-sitosterol is a main phytosterol that is considered a natural micronutrient in higher plants (34). Beta-sitosterol has been isolated from some Crataegus species, including C. orientalis (28) and C. pinnatifida (29). Used as a pure substance, this molecule has shown anticancer properties against leukemia, and against breast, prostate, colon, lung, stomach, and ovarian cancer (35). Previous studies have shown that β-sitosterol interferes with multiple cell signaling pathways, including those controlling the cell cycle, apoptosis, proliferation, survival, invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis, and inflammation (35). Beta-sitosterol has been shown to possess antioxidant and chemo-preventive activity in animal models of colon cancer (36). Ours is the first report describing the presence of β-sitosterol in a non-polar extract of the stems and leaves of C. gracilior.
Effects of Phytosterol Supplementation on Serum Levels of Lipid Profiles, Liver Enzymes, Inflammatory Markers, Adiponectin, and Leptin in Patients Affected by Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial
Published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2018
Majid Mohammad Shahi, Mohammad Ali Javanmardi, Seyed Saeed Seyedian, Mohammad Hossein Haghighizadeh
Phytosterols have a long history of dietary cholesterol-lowering agents (17), in which the effects of cholesterol lowering by plant sterols were observed in the 1950s (18). Phytosterols are natural components of a diet that has a structure similar to cholesterol. The average of receiving phytosterols from usual diets is almost 250 mg/d, the majority of which is supplied from vegetable oils, seeds, grains, and fruits. The most abundant sterols in the human diet are beta-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol (19). Plant esters like cholesterol are taken up into enterocytes from intestinal lumen by transporter Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1. Most of these sterols are introduced in enterocytes and then pumped back into the lumen by an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding cassette transporter. As a result, they have much less intestinal absorption than cholesterol (20). New findings suggest that receiving too large a quantity of sterols decreases the effective absorption of cholesterol from the intestine and increases its excretion (21). It has also been observed that daily intake of 2.5 g of phytosterols decreases serum cholesterol by more than 10% (19).
Assessment of Antihyperlipidemic and Antitumor Effect of Isolated Active Phytoconstituents from Apium graveolens L. through Bioassay-Guided Procedures
Published in Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2019
Groups II–VII were given i.p. injection of Triton WR 1339 at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight. After 24 h of Triton administration, animals of Group III received standard (beta-sitosterol) at the oral dose of 50 mg/kg. Groups IV, V, VI, and VII were treated with chloroform fraction, seselin, methoxsalen, and 3H-isobenzofuran-1- one at the oral dose of 50 mg/kg. The treatment was continued for 5 days with a view to see the effect on lipid profile.