Sterols and the phytosterol content in oilseed rape - Journal of Cell ...

ich diets may thus, result in symptoms analogue to
phytosterolemia, hereditary metabolic disorder
characterised by elevated phytosterol level in blood
and tissue. Additional esterification of phytosterols
and stanols with long chain of mono- or
polyunsaturated fatty acids will increase their lipid
solubility, facilitating their incorporation into the food,
at the same time.
A new rapeseed margarine Benecol, obtained from
rapeseed oil by phytostanols trans-esterification
(Miettinen, 2001) and enriched with sitostanol-esters
was first launched in ’95 in Finland (Miettinen et al.,
1995) and by the end of ’99 already introduced in
several other European countries and worldwide (Law,
2000). Functional spreadable oils and fats, with
corresponding products like: margarine, milk and
yoghurt, first appeared in Germany in July 2002,
under the product name “Becel pro-activ”. It was
found that 3 g/day of phytostanol ester margarine, like
Benecol, could actually reduce the LDL cholesterol
level up to 14-22 %, decreasing the amount of
Sterols and phytosterols in oilseed rape 77
Table 1. Trivial and scientific names of selected sterols from the sterol biosynthetic pathway (adapted from Grunwald, 1980)
Trivial Name Scientific Name Sterol Class
Cycloartenol 9beta,19-cyclo-24-lanosten-3beta-ol 4,4-dimethyl
24-Methylene Lophenol 4-alpha-Methyl-5-alpha-ergosta-7,24-dien-3-beta-ol 4-methyl
Avenasterol 24-ethylcholesta-5,24(28)Z-dien-3‚-ol 4-desmethyl
Cholesterol cholest-5-en-3‚-ol 4-desmethyl
Campesterol 24·-methyl-5-cholestern-3‚-ol 4-desmethyl
Brassicasterol 5,22-cholestadien-24‚-methyl-3‚-ol 4-desmethyl
Sitosterol 24·-ethylcholest-5-en-3‚-ol 4-desmethyl
Stigmasterol 5,22-cholestadien-24·-ethyl-3‚-ol 4-desmethyl
Table 2. Variation of phytosterol content in six different vegetable oils (g/kg of oil) (adapted from Piironen et al., 2000)
Oil Type Brassicasterol Campesterol Stigmasterol Sitosterol Avenasterol Total Phytosterols
Corn * 2.59 0.98 9.89 0.36 8.09-15.57
Rapeseed 0.55-0.73 1.59-2.48 0.02-0.04 2.84-3.59 0.13-0.19 5.13-9.79
Sunflower - 0.69 0.75 4.65 0.28 3.74-7.25
Cottonseed * 0.26 * 4.00 0.05 4.31-5.39
Soybean - 0.62-0.76 0.45-076 1.22-2.31 - 2.29-4.59
Olive (Extra Virgin) - 0.05 0.01 1.18-1.21 0.17-0.18 1.41-1.50
*found in traces
-not available
absorbed cholesterol up to 65 % (Law 2000; Miettinen
et al., 1995; Miettinen, 2001; Jones et al., 1999). The
reduction of LDL cholesterol level up to 20 % was,
according to Gylling et al. (1997), achieved with the
rapeseed margarine (5 %) and with the sitostanol
esters (15 %) present in that margarine. In this study, it
has been also proven that consumption of roughly 2 g
a day of phytosterol-enriched margarines can decrease
the coronary mortality, by about 25 %. Furthermore,
latest experimental studies have shown that dietary
phytosterols may be used also as prevention for
several types of cancer e.g. stomach and colon cancer
(Normen et al., 2001).
Genetic variation and modification
Gordon and Miller (1997) have published results of a
steryl ester composition in 10 different oil types: corn,
rapeseed, groundnut, olive, soybean, safflower, oleic
sunflower, linoleic sunflower, cottonseed and palm oil.
They have discovered that rapeseed had, after the corn