Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Plant Sterols and Phytoestrogens: Experimental and Clinical Evidence

Phytoestrogen compounds are found in many foodstuffs and are so named because they possess weak estrogenic or anti-estrogenic activity (Hutchins et al., 2001). They include certain isoflavones, lignans, and saponins. Dietary phytoestrogens may reduce risk of cardiovascular disease (Pan et al., 2001; van der Schouw et al., 2002; van der Schouw et al., 2005), by improving lipid profiles (MerzDemlow et al., 2000; Francis et al., 2002), reducing platelet aggregation (Gottstein et al., 2003), and enhancing endothelial function (Squadrito et al., 2002). Phytoestrogens also demonstrate some anti-inflammatory (Regal et al., 2000; Jenkins et al., 2003; Hallund et al., 2008), immunosuppressive (Park et al., 2007), and anti-parasitic activities (de Andrade-Neto et al., 2007). This chapter reviews the current knowledge of the effects of dietary phytosterols and phytoestrogens on inflammation and their potential roles in reducing inflammatory-based diseases.