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Trends in Plant Science May 2024Plant-microbe interactions (PMIs) are regulated through a wide range of mechanisms in which sterols from plants and microbes are involved in numerous ways, including... (Review)
Review
Plant-microbe interactions (PMIs) are regulated through a wide range of mechanisms in which sterols from plants and microbes are involved in numerous ways, including recognition, transduction, communication, and/or exchanges between partners. Phytosterol equilibrium is regulated by PMIs through expression of genes involved in phytosterol biosynthesis, together with their accumulation. As such, PMI outcomes also include plasma membrane (PM) functionalization events, in which phytosterols have a central role, and activation of sterol-interacting proteins involved in cell signaling. In spite (or perhaps because) of such multifaceted abilities, an overall mechanism of sterol contribution is difficult to determine. However, promising approaches exploring sterol diversity, their contribution to PMI outcomes, and their localization would help us to decipher their crucial role in PMIs.
Topics: Plants; Phytosterols; Sterols; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Host Microbial Interactions; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 38565452
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2024.03.002 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2023The phytosterol-biotransforming strains can be selected from Mycobacterium sp. using a high concentration of β-sitosterol. The selection is made by culturing the...
The phytosterol-biotransforming strains can be selected from Mycobacterium sp. using a high concentration of β-sitosterol. The selection is made by culturing the strains in a medium enriched with 14 g/L of β-sitosterol as the unique source of carbon. During 2 months, the bacterial cultures are transferred successively. The extraction of the biotransformation products is made with methanol and ethyl acetate. The qualitative and quantitative analyses are made by means of thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), and GLC-mass spectrometry. Under these conditions, it is observed that after seven transfers, the strains Mycobacterium sp. MB-3683 and Mycobacterium fortuitum B-11045 increase their biotransformation capacity from 20% to 64% and from 34% to 55%, respectively. The products in the highest proportion identified for each trial are androstenedione and androstadienedione. The results suggest that the high substrate concentration could be a selective mechanism to obtain strains more efficient in the biotransformation of β-sitosterol into steroidal bases.
Topics: Phytosterols; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Androstenedione; Carbon; Chromatography, Thin Layer
PubMed: 37642837
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3385-4_3 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2018Metabolomics has become a powerful tool in chemical biology. Profiling the human sterolome has resulted in the discovery of noncanonical sterols, including oxysterols... (Review)
Review
Metabolomics has become a powerful tool in chemical biology. Profiling the human sterolome has resulted in the discovery of noncanonical sterols, including oxysterols and meiosis-activating sterols. They are important to immune responses and development, and have been reviewed extensively. The triterpenoid metabolite fusidic acid has developed clinical relevance, and many steroidal metabolites from microbial sources possess varying bioactivities. Beyond the prospect of pharmacognostical agents, the profiling of minor metabolites can provide insight into an organism's biosynthesis and phylogeny, as well as inform drug discovery about infectious diseases. This review aims to highlight recent discoveries from detailed sterolomic profiling in microorganisms and their phylogenic and pharmacological implications.
Topics: Communicable Diseases; Ergosterol; Humans; Metabolomics; Oxysterols; Phylogeny; Phytosterols; Sterols
PubMed: 30366429
DOI: 10.3390/molecules23112768 -
International Journal of Molecular... Nov 2021Phytosterols constitute a class of natural products that are an important component of diet and have vast applications in foods, cosmetics, and herbal medicines. With... (Review)
Review
Phytosterols constitute a class of natural products that are an important component of diet and have vast applications in foods, cosmetics, and herbal medicines. With many and diverse isolated structures in nature, they exhibit a broad range of biological and pharmacological activities. Among over 200 types of phytosterols, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol were ubiquitous in many plant species, exhibiting important aspects of activities related to neurodegenerative diseases. Hence, this mini-review presented an overview of the reported studies on selected phytosterols related to neurodegenerative diseases. It covered the major phytosterols based on biosynthetic considerations, including other phytosterols with significant in vitro and in vivo biological activities.
Topics: Brain; Humans; Molecular Structure; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neuroprotective Agents; Phytosterols; Phytotherapy; Plants, Medicinal; Sitosterols; Stigmasterol
PubMed: 34830148
DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212255 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) May 2022Androstenedione (AD) is a key intermediate in the body's steroid metabolism, used as a precursor for several steroid substances, such as testosterone, estradiol, ethinyl... (Review)
Review
Androstenedione (AD) is a key intermediate in the body's steroid metabolism, used as a precursor for several steroid substances, such as testosterone, estradiol, ethinyl estradiol, testolactone, progesterone, cortisone, cortisol, prednisone, and prednisolone. The world market for AD and ADD (androstadienedione) exceeds 1000 tons per year, which stimulates the pharmaceutical industry's search for newer and cheaper raw materials to produce steroidal compounds. In light of this interest, we aimed to investigate the progress of AD biosynthesis from phytosterols by prospecting scientific articles (Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases) and patents (USPTO database). A wide variety of articles and patents involving AD and phytosterol were found in the last few decades, resulting in 108 relevant articles (from January 2000 to December 2021) and 23 patents of interest (from January 1976 to December 2021). The separation of these documents into macro, meso, and micro categories revealed that most studies (articles) are performed in China (54.8%) and in universities (76%), while patents are mostly granted to United States companies. It also highlights the fact that AD production studies are focused on "process improvement" techniques and on possible modifications of the "microorganism" involved in biosynthesis (64 and 62 documents, respectively). The most-reported "process improvement" technique is "chemical addition" (40%), which means that the addition of solvents, surfactants, cofactors, inducers, ionic liquids, etc., can significantly increase AD production. Microbial genetic modifications stand out in the "microorganism" category because this strategy improves AD yield considerably. These documents also revealed the main aspects of AD and ADD biosynthesis: sp. (basonym: sp.) (40%) and (known previously as ) (32%) are the most recurrent species studied. Microbial incubation temperatures can vary from 29 °C to 37 °C; incubation can last from 72 h to 14 days; the mixture is agitated at 140 to 220 rpm; vegetable oils, mainly soybean, can be used as the source of a mixture of phytosterols. In general, the results obtained in the present technological prospecting study are fundamental to mapping the possibilities of AD biosynthesis process optimization, as well as to identifying emerging technologies and methodologies in this scenario.
Topics: Androgens; Androstenedione; Biotransformation; Mycobacteriaceae; Phytosterols; Steroids
PubMed: 35630641
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27103164 -
Food Chemistry Dec 2023Structuring liquid oils into edible oleogels from natural and abundant plant ingredients has great significance in fields ranging from foods to pharmaceuticals but has...
Structuring liquid oils into edible oleogels from natural and abundant plant ingredients has great significance in fields ranging from foods to pharmaceuticals but has proven challenging. Herein, novel bicomponent phytosterol-based oleogels were developed with natural phenolics. Investigating diverse natural phenolics, cinnamic acid (CA) and ethyl ferulate (EF) successfully formed oleogels in combination with phytosterols (PS), where a synergistic effect on the oleogelation and crystallization was observed compared to the corresponding single component formulations. FTIR and UV-vis spectra showed that the gel network was primarily driven by hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking. Furthermore, oscillatory shear demonstrated oleogels featured higher elastic and network structure deformation at molar ratio of 5:5 and 3:7. Moreover, the bicomponent phytosterol-based oleogels displayed partially reversible shear deformation and a reversible solid-liquid transition. Such information was useful for engineering the functional properties of oleogel-based lipidic materials, providing significance for the application in foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries.
Topics: Phytosterols; Organic Chemicals; Phenols; Pharmaceutical Preparations
PubMed: 37487391
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136895 -
Progress in Lipid Research Jul 2017In plants, sterols are found in free form (free sterols, FSs) and conjugated as steryl esters (SEs), steryl glycosides (SGs) and acyl steryl glycosides (ASGs).... (Review)
Review
In plants, sterols are found in free form (free sterols, FSs) and conjugated as steryl esters (SEs), steryl glycosides (SGs) and acyl steryl glycosides (ASGs). Conjugated sterols are ubiquitously found in plants but their relative contents highly differ among species and their profile may change in response to developmental and environmental cues. SEs play a central role in membrane sterol homeostasis and also represent a storage pool of sterols in particular plant tissues. SGs and ASGs are main components of the plant plasma membrane (PM) that specifically accumulate in lipid rafts, PM microdomains known to mediate many relevant cellular processes. There are increasing evidences supporting the involvement of conjugated sterols in plant stress responses. In spite of this, very little is known about their metabolism. At present, only a limited number of genes encoding enzymes participating in conjugated sterol metabolism have been cloned and characterized in plants. The aim of this review is to update the current knowledge about the tissue and cellular distribution of conjugated sterols in plants and the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis. We also discuss novel aspects on the role of conjugated sterols in plant development and stress responses recently unveiled using forward- and reverse-genetic approaches.
Topics: Glycosylation; Hydrolysis; Phytosterols; Plants; Stress, Physiological
PubMed: 28666916
DOI: 10.1016/j.plipres.2017.06.002 -
The British Journal of Nutrition Mar 2024Phytosterols/phytostanols are bioactive compounds found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds and added to a range of commercial food products. Consumption of... (Review)
Review
Phytosterols/phytostanols are bioactive compounds found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds and added to a range of commercial food products. Consumption of phytosterols/phytostanols reduces levels of circulating LDL-cholesterol, a causative biomarker of CVD, and is linked to a reduced risk of some cancers. Individuals who consume phytosterols/phytostanols in their diet may do so for many years as part of a non-pharmacological route to lower cholesterol or as part of a healthy diet. However, the impact of long term or high intakes of dietary phytosterols/phytostanols has not been on whole-body epigenetic changes before. The aim of this systematic review was to identify all publications that have evaluated changes to epigenetic mechanisms (post-translation modification of histones, DNA methylation and miRNA expression) in response to phytosterols/phytostanols. A systematic search was performed that returned 226 records, of which eleven were eligible for full-text analysis. Multiple phytosterols were found to inhibit expression of histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes and were also predicted to directly bind and impair HDAC activity. Phytosterols were found to inhibit the expression and activity of DNA methyl transferase enzyme 1 and reverse cancer-associated gene silencing. Finally, phytosterols have been shown to regulate over 200 miRNA, although only five of these were reported in multiple publications. Five tissue types (breast, prostate, macrophage, aortic epithelia and lung) were represented across the studies, and although phytosterols/phytostanols alter the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance in these mammalian cells, studies exploring meiotic or transgenerational inheritance were not found.
Topics: Male; Animals; Humans; Phytosterols; Noncommunicable Diseases; Cholesterol; Epigenesis, Genetic; Neoplasms; MicroRNAs; Mammals
PubMed: 37955052
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114523002532 -
Animal Biotechnology Dec 2023Medicinal plants with active ingredients have shown great potential as natural and sustainable additives in livestock and poultry diets as growth promoters, performance,... (Review)
Review
Medicinal plants with active ingredients have shown great potential as natural and sustainable additives in livestock and poultry diets as growth promoters, performance, feed conversion ratio, digestibility of nutrient enhancers, and antioxidants and immune system modulators. Among active ingredients, phytosterols, which are plant-based bio-factors that may be found in seeds, fruits, grains, vegetables and legumes, are thought to be involved in the aforementioned activities but are also widely known in human medicine due to their efficacy in treating diabetes, coronary heart disease, and tumors. Nevertheless, phytosterols can also promote carcinogens production, angiogenesis inhibition, metastasis, infiltration, and cancer cells proliferation. This review focuses on the deepening of the biological role and health benefits of phytosterols and their new potential application in poultry and livestock nutrition.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Poultry; Livestock; Phytosterols; Diet; Antioxidants
PubMed: 35839248
DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2022.2099882 -
Journal of Food Science Feb 2022Coffee silverskin is a byproduct of the coffee roasting process contributing to organic waste burdens in urban areas. Silverskin is a potential source of dietary fiber,...
Coffee silverskin is a byproduct of the coffee roasting process contributing to organic waste burdens in urban areas. Silverskin is a potential source of dietary fiber, protein, carbohydrates, caffeine as well as vitamins and minerals. However, phytosterols present in the plant are susceptible to thermal oxidation resulting in the formation of phytosterol oxidation products (POPs) in the silverskin during roasting. In collaboration with a small roastery, the formation of POPs in three coffee varieties with roasting time was monitored by GC-MS. The objective was to evaluate the safety and potential benefits of incorporating coffee silverskin into value-added products. The qualitative profile of POPs in the silverskin from the three varieties was similar. Average total POPs were 0.32 g POPs/kg silverskin. POPs from the dominant plant sterol, sitosterol, were present at the highest concentrations. Caffeine, total antioxidant capacity, and total flavonoids were measured in the silverskin of the three coffees. Average values were 1.3 g caffeine/100 g silverskin, TEAC of 11 mmol Trolox/kg silverskin, and 1.94 to 8.60 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g silverskin, respectively. An analysis of the impact of consuming teas and baked goods containing silverskin was also performed. Using published formulations, a tea or cookie containing silverskin would contribute approximately 1 and 0.3 mg POP per day, respectively. Consumption of these products would not substantially increase dietary exposure to POPs, while increasing fiber and antioxidants while reducing organic waste. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Coffee silverskin has been studied as a possible source of fiber, antioxidants, and caffeine when incorporated in snack foods and used to make teas. To assess possible concerns about increasing dietary oxidized phytosterols, the formation of phytosterol oxidation products (POPs) was investigated in the silverskin fraction during the roasting process in three coffee varieties. In addition, caffeine, antioxidant capacity, and total flavonoids were determined. We found that silverskin can be safely used for value-added products including caffeinated teas, cookies, and bars with minimal impact on dietary POP exposures.
Topics: Antioxidants; Coffea; Coffee; Oxidation-Reduction; Phytosterols; Plant Extracts
PubMed: 35067916
DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.16042