Phytosterols: From Preclinical Evidence to Potential Clinical Applications

Overview

Journal Front Pharmacol

Date 2021 Feb 1

PMID 33519459

Citations 81

Authors

Bahare Salehi

Cristina Quispe

Javad Sharifi-Rad

Natalia Cruz-Martins

Manisha Nigam

Abhay Prakash Mishra

Dmitryi Alexeevich Konovalov

Valeriya Orobinskaya

Ibrahim M Abu-Reidah

Wissam Zam

Farukh Sharopov

Tommaso Venneri

Raffaele Capasso

Wirginia Kukula-Koch

Anna Wawruszak

Wojciech Koch

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Phytosterols (PSs) are plant-originated steroids. Over 250 PSs have been isolated, and each plant species contains a characteristic phytosterol composition. A wide number of studies have reported remarkable pharmacological effects of PSs, acting as chemopreventive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antiatherosclerotic agents. However, PS bioavailability is a key issue, as it can be influenced by several factors (type, source, processing, preparation, delivery method, food matrix, dose, time of administration into the body, and genetic factors), and the existence of a close relationship between their chemical structures (e.g., saturation degree and side-chain length) and low absorption rates has been stated. In this sense, the present review intends to provide in-depth data on PS therapeutic potential for human health, also emphasizing their preclinical effects and bioavailability-related issues.

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