ABSTRACT
Phytostanols, and their Esters..............................................................................498 27.6 Commercial Applications of Phytosterols, Phytostanols, and their Esters ........................498 27.7 Perspectives ........................................................................................................................499 References ......................................................................................................................................500
Phytosterols are analogs of cholesterol which occur in plant materials and, similar to sterols in mammalian cells, they are structural and functional constituents of cell membranes1,2. Sterols have the tetracyclic ring system specific to steroids, a hydroxyl group at C-3, and a side chain of different length at C-17. The IUPAC-IUB rules for numbering sterols and for ring lettering are based on the cholestane (cyclopenta[α]phenanthrene) skeleton shown for sitosterol in Figure 27.1.
