Soya phytosterol

Tlie bioconversion of steroids, tire products of which are used in steroidal hormone pharmaceuticals, is carried out at a scale of more tlian 1000 tons/year- starting from natmal phytosterols from soya, conifers and from rape seed (P-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmas-terol, brassicasterol, and P-sitostanol). 

EC Commission decision of 31 March 2004 authorizing the placing on the market of yellow fat spreads, salad dressings, milk type products, fermented milk type products, soya drinks and cheese-type products with added phytosterols/phytostanols as novel food ingredients under Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council [notified under document number C(2004) 1243]. Official Journal 2004, L 105,14/04/2004, 0040-0042. 

Because of the controversy around the effects of Isofl on breast cancer proliferaticm and risks, the soy or clover-based food supplements advertised in the 1990s for breast cancer prevention have disappeared from the market today. They were proposed to children and teenagers in a preventive strategy. Because soy contains many compounds that are as interesting as Isofl, like phytosterols, soya saponins, abd protease inhibitors, the reduction of the beneficial effect of soy to that of Isofl, especially in the case of breast cancer prevention, seems illogical. It is more sensible to advise a regular and moderate soy-food intake from childhood to adulthood as part of a well-balanced and diversified diet... 

Sterols are synthesized in both plants and animals. Sterols and their derivatives, such as hormones and vitamin D2, perform various important functions in living organisms depending on their structure. Consequently, sterol products can be derived from several sources. Plant sterols, or phytosterols, are obtained from the unsaponifiable fraction of vegetable oils and fats. The amount of sterol, as well as its composition including fraction of unsaponifiable portion of the respective oil and fats, depends on the raw materials and is characteristic of the particular base material (Table 1). Soya oil represents a widely available source for commercial production of phytosterols. The unsaponifiable portion is separated into a sterol fraction and a tocopherol fraction. A small amount of tocopherol is usually left in the sterol fraction (approximately 4%), which acts as a natural antioxidant in the final product [2]. Plant sterols are also obtained from the black-liquor soap skimming in commercial pulping of wood. The neutral fraction of this so-called tall oil is relatively rich in sterols (approximately 32% of the neutral fraction [3]), and the sterol... 

More recently, the surfactant properties of ethoxylates prepared Ifom soya bean phytosterol (a mixture of sitosterol, stimasterol and campesterol in a 2 1 1 ratio) have been studied [39, 40]. The degree of ethoxylation largely determines the surfactant properties (Figure 3.7). 

Synonyms Glycine soja Glycine soya sterol Soy sterol Sterols, glycine soya Sterols, soy Sterols, soybean Classification Phytosterol... 

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