phytosterols and spinasterol

α-Spinasterol is a phytosterol found in various edible and non-edible plant sources. The edible plant materials containing α-spinasterol include spinach leaves, cucumber fruits, seeds of pumpkin and watermelon, argan seed oil, cactus pear seed oil and Amaranthus sp. It is a bioavailable nutraceutical, and it can cross the blood-brain barrier. It possesses several important pharmacological properties such as anti-diabetes mellitus, antiinflammation, hypolipidemic, antiulcer, neuroprotection, anti-pain and antitumour activities. For this review, literature search was made focusing on the pharmacological properties of α-spinasterol using PubMed and Google Scholar data bases. Recent studies show the promising antidiabetic properties of α-spinasterol. Its anti-diabetic mechanisms include enhancement of insulin secretion, reduction in insulin resistance, anti-diabetic nephropathy, increase in glucose uptake in muscle cells and inhibition of glucose absorption from intestine. Besides, it is a safe antiinflammatory agent, and its antiinflammatory mechanisms include inhibition of cyclooxygenases, antagonism of TRPV1 receptor and attenuation of proinflammatory cytokines and mediators. It is a promising and safe nutraceutical molecule for human health care. Food supplements, value-added products and nutraceutical formulations can be developed with α-spinasterol for the management of diabetes, chronic inflammatory diseases and improving general health. This review provides all scattered pharmacological studies on α-spinasterol in one place and highlights its immense value for human health care.

Topics: Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Cytokines; Dietary Supplements; Glucose; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents; Phytosterols; Plant Oils; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Stigmasterol

Phytosterols, which are produced in plants, are structurally similar to cholesterol. Their basic structures consist of a cyclo pentano-perhydrophenanthrene nucleus composed of 3 hexane rings and of a pentane ring with an alkyl side chain. There are around more than 250 phytosterols and related compounds that have been identified in natural resources. Among them, spinasterol and schottenol, its dihydro analog, are often found in seeds, and consequently in seed oils, and in other botanical parts of some plant families such as Sapotaceae, Cactaceae, and Cucurbitaceae. Spinasterol and/or schottenol has been identified in dietary and cosmetic argan oil, milk thistle seed oil, nigella seed oil, and pumkin seed oil. These phytosterols that have several bioactive properties make them potentially attractive molecules in pharmacology. Their chemical and biochemical features are summarized and the analytical methods used to characterize and analyze these compounds are presented.

Topics: Fatty Acids; Phytosterols; Plant Oils

Spinasterol and schottenol, two phytosterols present in argan oil and in cactus pear seed oil, were synthesized from commercially available stigmasterol by a four steps reactions. In addition, the effects of these phytosterols on cell growth and mitochondrial activity were evaluated on 158N murine oligodendrocytes, C6 rat glioma cells, and SK-N-BE human neuronal cells with the crystal violet test and the MTT test, respectively. The effects of spinasterol and schottenol were compared with 7-ketocholesterol (7KC) and ferulic acid, which is also present in argan and cactus pear seed oil. Whatever the cells considered, dose dependent cytotoxic effects of 7KC were observed whereas no or slight effects of ferulic acid were found. With spinasterol and schottenol, no or slight effects on cell growth were detected. With spinasterol, reduced mitochondrial activities (30-50%) were found on 158N and C6 cells; no effect was found on SK-N-BE. With schottenol, reduced mitochondrial activity were revealed on 158N (50%) and C6 (10-20%) cells; no effect was found on SK-N-BE. Altogether, these data suggest that spinasterol and schottenol can modulate mitochondrial activity and might therefore influence cell metabolism.

Topics: Animals; Cell Line; Cell Proliferation; Central Nervous System; Humans; Mice; Mitochondria; Phytosterols; Plant Oils; Pyrus; Rats; Seeds; Sitosterols; Stigmasterol

Preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC), as a continuous liquid-liquid partition chromatography with no solid support matrix, combined with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) was employed for systematic separation and purification of non-chromophoric chemical components from Chinese medicinal herb Adenophora tetraphlla (Thunb.), Fisch. Nine compounds, including alpha-spinasterol, beta-sitosterol, nonacosan-10-ol, 24-methylene cycloartanol, lupenone, 3-O-palmitoyl-beta-sitosterol, 3-O-beta-d-glucose-beta-sitosterol, eicosanoic acid and an unknown compound, were obtained. The compounds were all above 95% determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-ELSD, and their structures were identified by (1)H NMR and chemical ionization mass spectroscopy (CI-MS). The results demonstrate that HSCCC coupled with ELSD is a feasible and efficient technique for systematic isolation of non-chromophoric components from traditional medicinal herbs.

Topics: Campanulaceae; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Countercurrent Distribution; Light; Phytosterols; Plant Roots; Sitosterols; Stigmasterol; Triterpenes

The wood and bark of four Acacia species growing in Portugal, namely, A. longifolia, A. dealbata, A. melanoxylon, and A. retinodes, were investigated for their sterol content. The lipids fractions of the different wood and bark samples were isolated, and the sterols were identified and quantified by GC-MS. Two delta7 sterols, specifically, spinasterol and dihydrospinasterol, were the main sterols found in considerable amounts, particularly in wood tissues (more than 0.5 g/kg of dry wood in the case of A. melanoxylon and A. retinodes). The corresponding unusual steryl glucosides were also identified in significant amounts in the wood and bark extracts.

Topics: Acacia; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Glucosides; Phytosterols; Plant Stems; Portugal; Sitosterols; Stigmasterol; Wood

Topics: Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Medicine, East Asian Traditional; Nitrates; Phytosterols; Plants, Medicinal; Potassium Compounds; Stigmasterol; Succinates; Succinic Acid

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Capillary Permeability; Edema; Female; Foot Diseases; Male; Mice; Phytosterols; Rats; Stigmasterol

Effects of spinasterol and sitosterol on plasma and liver cholesterol levels and biliary and fecal sterol and bile acid excretions were examined with male mice. Both phytosterols were added to the diet at a 1% concentration and fed to mice for 15 days. Spinasterol increased the fecal cholesterol excretion and decreased the plasma and liver cholesterol levels, the bile acid pool size and the fecal bile acid excretion, especially those derived from chenodeoxycholic acid. Fecal coprostanol excretion remained unchanged. These changes were similar to those produced by sitosterol. These data led to the conclusions 1) that spinasterol, as well as sitosterol, inhibits cholesterol absorption, resulting in decreases of the plasma and liver cholesterol levels and 2) that when cholesterol absorption is inhibited, the synthesis of bile acids, especially that of chenodeoxycholic acid, decreases, suggesting that the dietary cholesterol is preferentially metabolized to chenodeoxycholic acid in mice.

Topics: Animals; Bile; Bile Acids and Salts; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Feces; Liver; Male; Mice; Phospholipids; Phytosterols; Sitosterols; Sterols; Stigmasterol