<unk> s have a long history of safe use, dating back to Cytellin, the pharmaceutical preparation of<unk> s marketed in the US from 1954-82.<unk>  esters have generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status in the US.<unk> -containing functional foods were subject to postlaunch monitoring after being introduced to the EU market in 2000, and no unpredicted side effects were reported. A potential safety concern regarding<unk>  consumption is in patients with<unk> aemia, a rare genetic disorder which results in a 50- to 100-fold increase in blood plant sterol levels and is associated with rapid development of coronary atherosclerosis.<unk> aemia has been linked to mutations in the ABCG5/G8 proteins which pump plant sterols out of enterocytes and hepatocytes into the lumen and bile ducts, respectively. Plant sterol levels in the blood have been shown to be positively, negatively or not associated with CVD risk, depending on the study population investigated. The link between plant sterols and CVD or CHD risk is complicated because<unk>  levels reflect cholesterol absorption. (See<unk> s as a marker for cholesterol absorption). Sterol vs stanol The equivalent ability and safety of plant sterols and plant stanols to lower cholesterol continues to be a hotly debated topic. Plant sterols and stanols, when compared head-to-head in clinical trials, have been shown to equally reduce cholesterol levels. A meta-analysis of 14 randomized, controlled trials comparing plant sterols to plant stanols directly at doses of 0.6 to 2.5 g/day showed no difference between the two forms on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, or triglyceride levels. Trials looking at high doses (> 4 g/day) of plant sterols or stanols are very limited, and none have yet to be completed comparing the same high dose of plant sterol to plant stanol. The debate regarding sterol vs. stanol safety is centered on their differing intestinal absorption and resulting plasma concentrations. Phytostanols have a lower estimated intestinal absorption rate (0.02 - 0.3%) than<unk> s (0.4 - 5%) and consequently blood phytostanol concentration is generally lower than<unk>  concentration.
Phytosterol
Ergosterol
Conjugated linoleic acid
Cholesterol
Lipoic acid
Cholic acid
Cerebroside
Oxycholesterol