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Campesterol

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Several causative factors are implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease including hereditary predisposition to the disease, gender, lifestyle factors such as smoking and diet, age, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, including hypercholesteremia. High blood cholesterol concentration is one of the major risk factors for vascular disease and coronary heart disease in humans. Research to date suggests that cholesterol may play a primary role in atherosclerosis by forming a atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessels. Sterols are important cyclized triterpenoids that perform many critical functions in cells. Phytosterols such as campesterol, stigmasterol and beta-sitosterol in plants, ergosterol in fungi and cholesterol in animals are each primary components of the cellular and sub-cellular membranes in their respective cell types. Phytosterols are plant sterols that do not dissolve in water and have a molecular weight and structure similar to cholesterol. Over forty plant sterols have been identified but beta-sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol are the most abundant. Other examples of useful sterols are brassicasterol, desmosterol, chalinosterol, poriferasterol, and clionasterol. The dietary source of phytosterols in humans comes from vegetables and plant oils. The estimated daily phytosterol content in the conventional western-type diet is approximately 250 milligrams in contrast to a vegetable diet which would provide double that amount.

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