Beta-sitosterol: Benefits, Dosage, Contraindications
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Phytosubstances
Indications
Rating methodology
EFSA approval.
Hypercholesterolemia ✪✪✪✪✪
Oral intake of beta-sitosterol significantly reduces total cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, but has little or no effect on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. Some preliminary clinical research shows that taking a combination of 8 g of soy protein and 2 g of beta-sitosterol per day for 40 days slightly reduces LDL cholesterol by 17 to 20 mg/dL from baseline in patients with moderate hypercholesterolemia; however, this combination does not affect triglyceride or HDL cholesterol levels.
Posologie
Oral
1500 - 3500 mg
Atorvastatin reduces macrophage accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques: a comparison of a nonstatin-based regimen in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy
Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to plant sterols and plant stanols and maintenance of normal blood cholesterol concentrations (ID 549, 550, 567, 713, 1234, 1235, 1466, 1634, 1984, 2909, 3140), and maintenance of normal prostate size and normal urination
Effects of a new low dose soy protein/beta-sitosterol association on plasma lipid levels and oxidation
AHA Science Advisory. Stanol/sterol ester-containing foods and blood cholesterol levels. A statement for healthcare professionals from the Nutrition Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism of the American Heart Association
Benign prostatic hyperplasia ✪✪✪✪✪
Taking 60 to 130 mg of beta-sitosterol orally in 2 or 3 divided doses per day improves urinary symptoms, increases maximum urinary flow rate, and decreases post-void residual urinary volume, but does not affect prostate size. The optimal dose is 60 mg twice a day. This dose can be reduced to 30 mg twice a day when symptoms improve.
Posologie
Oral
60 - 130 mg
Treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia with beta-sitosterol: an 18-month follow-up
Effects of Difaprost® on voiding dysfunction, histology and inflammation markers in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia who are candidates for surgical treatment
AHA Science Advisory. Stanol/sterol ester-containing foods and blood cholesterol levels. A statement for healthcare professionals from the Nutrition Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism of the American Heart Association
A double-blind trial of the effect of beta-sitosteryl glucoside (WA184) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia
Beta-sitosterols for benign prostatic hyperplasia
A multicentric, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial of beta-sitosterol (phytosterol) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. German BPH-Phyto Study group
Randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial of beta-sitosterol in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Beta-sitosterol Study Group
Hair loss ✪✪✪✪✪
Preliminary clinical research shows that a combination of 50 mg beta-sitosterol and 200 mg saw palmetto extract taken twice daily improves the quantity and quality of hair in men with androgenetic alopecia.
Posologie
Oral
100 mg
Synergies
Burns ✪✪✪✪✪
Preliminary clinical research shows that applying an ointment containing sesame oil, beta-sitosterol, berberine, and other plant ingredients on thermal burns every 4 hours is as effective as applying a silver sulfadiazine dressing twice a day. Moreover, this ointment seems to be more effective than povidone-iodine and bepanthenol cream in reducing pain in patients with partial thickness thermal burns.
Posologie
Cutaneous route
0.25%
ointment
Comparing oil based ointment versus standard practice for the treatment of moderate burns in Greece: a trial based cost effectiveness evaluation
Moist Exposed Burn Ointment (MEBO) in partial thickness burns - a randomized, comparative open mono-center study on the efficacy of dermaheal (MEBO) ointment on thermal 2nd degree burns compared to conventional therapy
Moist occlusive dressing (Aquacel(®) Ag) versus moist open dressing (MEBO(®)) in the management of partial-thickness facial burns: a comparative study in Ain Shams University
Properties
Hypolipidemic
Beta-sitosterol inhibits intestinal cholesterol absorption through a competitive effect at the limited space of mixed micelles, reducing cholesterol absorption by about 50%. However, since the body has less cholesterol, compensatory mechanisms come into play, increasing cholesterol synthesis in the liver.
Usages associés
Antiandrogenic
Inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase, which prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), may contribute to beta-sitosterol’s activity in androgenetic alopecia. Reduction in the bioavailability of cholesterol by beta-sitosterol can also reduce the biosynthesis of testosterone and DHT. It's suggested that androgenetic alopecia involves increased sensitivity of hair follicles to DHT, reducing their growth phase and size. For prostate hyperplasia, animal research suggests that beta-sitosterol may inhibit the activity of 5-alpha-reductase, although finasteride seems more potent. Laboratory research suggests that beta-sitosterol may have antiproliferative effects on the prostate, potentially by inhibiting growth factors. In animals, beta-sitosterol shrinks the prostate, but this has not been demonstrated in humans.
Usages associés
Anticancer
There is preliminary evidence that beta-sitosterol may have anticancer effects. Beta-sitosterol may inhibit the growth of human colon cancer cells in vitro. The mechanism of action involves membrane signalization, caspases, and inflammatory mediators.
Usages associés
Immunomodulator
Beta-sitosterol may have immunostimulant effects. Mixtures of beta-sitosterol and its glycoside, sitosteroline, also appear to enhance proliferative responses of T cells in vitro. Beta-sitosterol may also moderate the immune decline and inflammation seen in marathon runners after a race.
Hypoglycemic
A study has shown that oral treatment with beta-sitosterol lowers fasting blood glucose and improves glucose tolerance by increasing fasting plasma insulin levels in hyperglycemic rats. The mechanisms of this increase are not yet well elucidated and require further studies.
Healing
Beta-sitosterol has an angiogenic effect. Indeed, beta-sitosterol improves the formation of new vessels in a dose-dependent manner and promotes the expression of several proteins related to angiogenesis, including Von Willebrand factors, VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor), and VEGF receptor.
Usages associés
Neurological
An in vivo study conducted in mice showed that administration of beta-sitosterol reduces anxiety without the side effects of anxiolytic drugs and without altering locomotion. Other research has shown that the combination of beta-sitosterol and fluoxetine (an antidepressant drug) has a synergistic effect.
Beta-sitosterol enhances motor coordination, attenuates memory loss and demyelination in a vanadium-induced model of experimental neurotoxicity
Bioactivity-guided isolation of beta-sitosterol and some fatty acids as active compounds in the anxiolytic and sedative effects of Tilia americana var. mexicana
Safety dosage
Adult from 18 year(s): 60 mg - 4000 mg
Beta-sitosterol is most often used at doses of 60 to 130 mg per day for up to 18 months or at higher doses of 3 to 4 grams per day for 1 to 3 months.
Interactions
Médicaments
EZETIMIBE: moderate interaction
Ezetimibe inhibits the intestinal absorption of beta-sitosterol and reduces plasma concentrations in people with or without sitosterolemia. In people with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia, ezetimibe reduces beta-sitosterol levels by 41%.
Pravastatin: minor interaction
There is evidence that pravastatin can lower blood levels of beta-sitosterol. Theoretically, this could occur with other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors ("statins").
Precautions
Pregnant women: avoid
Avoid use due to lack of reliable and sufficient information.
Breastfeeding women: avoid
Avoid use due to lack of reliable and sufficient information.
Contraindications
Sitosterolemia: prohibited
The intake of beta-sitosterol may exacerbate sitosterolemia, a rare hereditary lipid storage disease. People with this condition show increased absorption of cholesterol and beta-sitosterol from the diet, and decreased clearance of beta-sitosterol. Total body reserves of beta-sitosterol increase significantly. High levels of hepatic beta-sitosterol competitively inhibit cholesterol catabolism, thereby contributing to hypercholesterolemia. Beta-sitosterol and its glycoside, sitosteroline, are contraindicated in patients with sitosterolemia.
