Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Occurrence And Levels Of Phytosterols In Foods

2003; CRC Press; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1201/9780203913413.ch1

2380-1263

Vieno Piironen, Anna‐Maija Lampi,

Lipid metabolism and biosynthesis

Phytosterols are present in all plants and in foods containing plant-based raw materials. In normal diets vegetable oils and products based on them are generally acknowledged to be the richest sources of phytosterols (1,2). However, the significance of other foods, especially cereal products and vegetables, depends on dietary patterns. Some foods generally consumed only in low quantities but containing considerable amounts of sterols, such as nuts, may contribute significantly to the dietary phytosterol intakes of some individuals or population groups. On the other hand, food items with rather low levels of phytosterols but consumed as major food items may become significant sources. When various foods are evaluated as phytosterol sources, the main interest is generally in the levels of individual sterols, particularly different desmethyl sterols such as sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, avenasterols, and stanols, which comprise the majority of phytosterols in normal foods (2,3). More rarely, monomethyl and dimethyl sterols are also determined. In addition to the parent sterol composition, the distribution of the various steryl conjugates is also of interest. These conjugates, i.e., esters with fatty acids (SEs), esters with phenolic acids (SPHEs), glycosides (SGs), and acylated glycosides (ASGs), may have different chemical, technological, and nutritional properties. Cholesterol often accounts for 1–2% of the total sterols in plants and may comprise 5% or more in certain plant families,