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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #311751
Research Project: Enable New Marketable, Value-added Coproducts to Improve Biorefining Profitability

Location: Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research

Title: Composition of plant sterols and stanols in supplemented food products

Author
item Moreau, Robert

Submitted to: Journal of AOAC International
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2015
Publication Date: 5/17/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61094
Citation: Moreau, R.A. 2015. Composition of plant sterols and stanols in supplemented food products. Journal of AOAC International. 98:670-685.

Interpretive Summary: All food from plant origin, including fruits, vegetables, grains and other plant materials contain small amounts of plant sterols. The average human consumption of plant sterols has been estimated to be about 150-350 mg/day, but this number varies regionally and is higher for vegetarians. When consumed in the diet, plant sterols reduce the levels of serum cholesterol. In 1995 the first functional food product, Benecol spread (enriched in sterols called plant stanol fatty acid esters), was developed by Raisio and marketed, first in Finland and then globally. Since then many other functional food products have been developed and are now available globally. In essentially all of the current functional foods that are enriched in sterols, the source material from which the sterols are obtained is either tall oil (a byproduct/coproduct of the pulping of pine wood) or vegetable oil deodorizer distillate (a byproduct/coproduct of the refining of vegetable oils).

Technical Abstract: All fruits, vegetables, grains and other plant materials contain small amounts of plant sterols, which are essential for the function of the biological membranes in living cells. The average human consumption of plant sterols has been estimated to be about 150-350 mg/day and trace amounts of stanols (which are defined as saturated sterols such as sitostanol), but this number varies regionally and is higher for vegetarians. When consumed in the diet, plant sterols reduce the levels of serum cholesterol. In 1995 the first functional food product, Benecol spread (enriched in plant stanol fatty acid esters), was developed by Raisio and marketed, first in Finland and then globally. Since then many other functional food products have been developed and are now available globally. In addition to stanol esters, other functional food products contain plant sterol esters and/or free (unesterified) plant sterols and stanols. In essentially all of the current functional foods that are enriched in sterols and stanols, the feedstock from which the sterols and stanols are obtained is either tall oil (a byproduct/coproduct of the pulping of pine wood) or vegetable oil deodorizer distillate (a byproduct/coproduct of the refining of vegetable oils).