Description

Phytosterols (also called plant sterols) are a group of steroid alcohols, phytochemicals naturally occurring in plants. Phytosterols occur naturally in small quantities in vegetable oils, especially sea buckthorn oil (***0 mg/**0g oil), corn oil (**8 mg/**0g), and soybean oil (**7 mg/**0g oil). One such phytosterol complex, isolated from vegetable oil, is cholestatin, composed of campesterol, stigmasterol, and brassicasterol, and is marketed as a dietary supplement. They are white powders with mild, characteristic odor, insoluble in water and soluble in alcohols. They have applications in medicine and cosmetics and as a food additive taken to lower cholesterol. Plants contain a range of phytosterols. They act as a structural component in the cell membrane, a role which in mammalian cells is played by cholesterol. As a food ingredient or additive, phytosterols have cholesterol-lowering properties (reducing cholesterol absorption in intestines).