Safety evaluation of certain food additives - ipcs inchem

PHYTOSTEROLS, PHYTOSTANOLS AND THEIR ESTERS 151
3.5 Summary
The Committee concluded that data currently available support the “directed”
estimate of daily exposure to 30 mg/kg bw per day for consumers of free
phytosterols and phytostanols in foods.
4. COMMENTS
4.1 Toxicological data
The bioavailability of phytosterols and phytostanols is lower than that of
cholesterol. Absorption from the gastrointestinal tract in humans has been
estimated to be about 5% for -sitosterol, 15% for campesterol and less than 1%
for -sitostanol, campestanol and other phytostanols. In a recent human study,
where deuterium-labelled substances were emulsified with lecithin and administered
with the diet, even lower absorption rates (campesterol, 2%; -sitosterol,
campestanol and -sitostanol,