Nutraceutical Intervention of Phytosterols for cardiovascular health

GUPTA, C.; PRAKASH, D.; NAZARENO, M. A .

Rahuri, Maharashtra

Simposio; National Food and Nutritional Security Conclave; 2019

Indian Society of Agricultural Biochemists. Kanpur

Phytosterols are plant sterols and stanols that the human body cannot synthesize and therefore originate from the diet. They are known to lower total and low density lipoproteins (LDL) blood cholesterol by competing cholesterol absorption from the intestine, so they possess blood cholesterol-lowering property. Phytosterols are naturally present in fruits, vegetables, nuts and principally oils. Dietary phytosterol intakes normally range from 160-400mg/day with variations depending on food culture and major food sources. Studies have shown that maximum cholesterol lowering benefits are achieved at doses of 2-3g per day. Therefore, today?s use implies the need for enriched functional foods, which give enough phytosterols intake thereby contributing to lowering LDL cholesterol levels. Dairy foods remain a food of choice for use as delivery vehicle for many functional ingredients including phytosterols and there are many dairy products available in the global markets which are enriched with phytosterols. At the current growth rate of cardio-vascular disease (CVD) throughout India, it is expected that the Indian market demand for phytosterol fortified products which will further increase in the near future. Incorporation of phytosterols as functional food ingredient will be a new approach to reduce LDL cholesterol through dairy foods and hold a great promise for long term health management. Their use in commonly consumed dairy products may soon provide an effective tool against CVD and its introduction in world market is worth anticipating in the near future.