PHYTOSTEROLS

BY
FASHETAN, MERCY OMOLADE
PCG 704

LECTURER; DR. OMONIKE OGBOLE

DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACOGNOSY
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
 What are sterols?
 Sterols is a class of steroids containing a hydroxyl group
in the 3- position of the a-ring; they are found in all
animals and plant tissue
 A group of naturally occurring compounds found in plant
cell membranes.

 They are a type of lipid. They occur naturally in plants,

animals, and fungi and they can also be produced by
some bacteria, however they have different function.
 The sterols in plant are called phytosterols
Sources include unrefined vegetable oils, whole
grains, nuts, seeds and legumes.
More than 200 types of sterols are have been
reported in plant species.
More abundant are beta-sistosterol, stigmasterol
and campesterol
Others found in minor amounts are
brassiscasterol, sitostanol, campestanol and
delta-avenasterol
 Campesterol
Types of
phytosterols
Beta-Sitosterol

Stigmasterol
Phytosterols

Fig.1:Plant-derived sterols

Fig.2: Plant-derived stanols 5

GENERAL MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF PHYTOSTEROLS

Reduction of cholesterol
levels with decreased Anti-Inflammatory
risk of coronary heart activity
diseases.

Disease prevention and

Anti-cancer activity
treatment generally

Phytosterols & their
Medicinal Properties
 Beta-sitosterol

 found in Glycine max (soy beans), vegetables, peanuts,

wheat germ.

 It is a plant substance similar to cholesterol. It helps

reduce the level of cholesterol by limiting the amount of
cholesterol that is able to enter the body.

 It has anti-inflammatory property.

 Improve urinary flow measures

Fig. 1; Soy bean Fig. 2; peanuts

Fig. 3; Wheat
germ
 Soy beans (Glycine max)
 Kingdom; plantae
 Order; fabales
 Family; fabaceae
 Subfamily; faboideae
 Genus; glycine
 Species; Glycine max
 Active component; isoflavones, protease
inhibitors, saponins, phenolic acids and
phytosterols (Beta-sitosterol)

 Biological activities; it acts as

hypocholesterolemic and it improves
prostate cancer
 Arachis hypogaea (peanuts)

 Kingdom; plantae
 Order; fabales
 Family; fabaceae
 Subfamily; faboideae
 Genus; Arachis
 Species; Arachis hypogaea
 Active component; Flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolic acids and
phytosterols (Beta-sitosterol)

 Biological activities; it acts as anti inflammatory and anti cancer

effect.

Dosage
 30-60mg twice daily

Precaution
 Gastrointestinal side effects are most common
 Mechanism of action of
beta-sistosterol
 It helps reduce cholesterol levels by limiting the amount
of cholesterol that is able to enter the body
 It can also bind to the prostate to help reduce swelling
(inflammation)
 How beta-sistosterol works is not well known , but more
research is needed to know how well they really work.
 (Wilt TJ, et al. 1999)
Some marketed beta- sterol
supplements.
 Campesterol
 Campesterol is a phytosterol i.e. a steroid derived from
plants
 Found in banana, cucumber, pomegrate, pepper, potato and
lemon grass.

 Anti-angiogenic activity
 Anti- carcinogenic activity
 It also has anti inflammatory effects

 Excessive use of campesterol has been associated with an

increased risk of cardiovascular disease
 Cucumis sativus L.
 Kingdom; plantae
 Order; Cucurbitales
 Family; Cucurbitaceae
 Genus; Cucumis
 Species; Cucumis sativus
 Active component; alkaloid, glycoside, saponin,
flavonoid and phytosterols (Campesterol)

 Biological activities; it acts as hepatoprotective and it

anti-inflammatory.
 (Lakshmi, B.S. 2011 )
 Capsicum spp.
 Kingdom; plantae
 Order; Piperales
 Family; Piperaceae
 Genus; Piper
 Species; Piper spp.
 Active component; alkaloid, glycoside,
saponin, flavonoid and phytosterols
(Campesterol)

 Biological activities; it acts as mutagenic and

carcinogenic property
 (Stanley, 2001 )
 Mechanism of action of
campesterol
 Phytosterols are found to decrease LDL levels, however the exact
mechanism causing this is unknown.
 Campesterol is very similar in structure to cholesterol, one hypotheis
is that it may compete with cholesterol for intestinal absorption which
would decrease the amount of cholesterol intestinal uptake.
 It reduces the swelling and inflammation in the prostate gland by
inhibiting type 1 and type 2 5-alpha-reductace and blocking the
binding of dihydotestosterone to cystolic androgen reptors.
 It also has anti-cancer effects by inhibiting endothelial cell differential
and proliferation in virto. It also inhibit neovascularization in vivo by
disrupting angiogenesis caused by bFGF.
 (Kaplan, Steven A., 2004)
Some marketed campesterol
supplements.
 Stigmasterol
 Stigmasterol is an unsaturated phytosterol occurring in
plants
 Found in Physostigma venenosum (calabar beans) and
other vegetables, legumes, nuts.

 Biological activities;
 Anti-angiogenic activity and
 Anti-Cancer effects;
 Anti-osteoarthtic activity
 Physostigma venenosum (calabar beans)
 Kingdom; plantae
 Order; fabales
 Family; fabaceae
 Subfamily; faboideae
 Genus; Physostigma
 Species; Physostigma
 venenosum
 Active component; alkaloid, glycoside,
saponin, flavonoid and phytosterols
(Campesterol)

 Biological activities; it acts as mutagenic and

carcinogenic property
 (Stanley, 2001 )
 Mechanism of action of stigmasterol
 It inhibits pro-inflammatory and matrix
degradation mediators typically involved in OA-
induced cartilage degradation, at least in part
through the inhibition of the NF-kappaB pathway.
Some marketed stigmasterol
supplements.
 References
 Andersson, S W; Skinner, J; Ellegård, L; Welch, A A; Bingham, S; Mulligan, A;
Andersson, H; Khaw, K-T (2004). "Intake of dietary plant sterols is inversely related
to serum cholesterol concentration in men and women in the EPIC Norfolk
population: A cross-sectional study". European Journal of Clinical
Nutrition. 58 (10): 1378–85. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601980. PMID 15054420.
Patterson, CA (July 2006). "Phytosterols and stanols: Topic 10075E" (PDF).
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Government of Canada. Retrieved 7
November 2017.
 Genser, B.; Silbernagel, G.; De Backer, G.; Bruckert, E.; Carmena, R.; Chapman, M.
J.; Deanfield, J.; Descamps, O. S.; Rietzschel, E. R.; Dias, K. C.; März, W. (2012).
"Plant sterols and cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis"
. European Heart Journal. 33 (4): 444–451. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehr441. PMC
3279314. PMID 22334625.
 Moreau RA, Hicks KB (2004). "The in vitro hydrolysis of phytosterol conjugates in
food matrices by mammalian digestive enzymes". Lipids. 39 (8): 769–76. doi:
10.1007/s11745-004-1294-3. PMID 15638245 2
 Weihrauch, JL; Gardner, JM (1978). "Sterol content of foods of plant
8
origin". Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 73 (1): 39–47. PMID 659760.