We investigated the relationship between plasma cholestanol (5 alpha-dihydrocholesterol) concentrations and the activity and mRNA levels of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase, the rate-controlling enzyme for bile acid synthesis, in three female sitosterolemic homozygotes. In this lipid storage disease, large amounts of plant sterols and cholestanol accumulate because of hyperabsorption and endogen...

Free and esterified sterols of eggs of the root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita races 2 and 3 and M. arenaria race 1 were isolated and identified by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major sterols of eggs of each race were 24-ethylcholesterol (33.4-38.8% of total sterol), 24-ethylcholestanol (18.3-25.3%), 24-methylcholesterol (8.6-11.7%), 24-methylcholestanol (7.7-12.5%), an...

BACKGROUND Aloe is known for its topical use for treating wounds and burns. Many previous studies reported the healing effects of Aloe vera. However, there are few clinical studies on the effect of orally administered A. vera gel on the skin. Aloe sterols are a type of plant sterols that have the capability to regulate the metabolism of glucose and lipids. In a recent study, we confirmed that i...

A single dose of mevalonic acid-2-(14)C was administered simultaneously to 6 Haplopappus heterophyllus plants. They were harvested at intervals ranging from 3 days to 6 months. Four groups of biosynthetically related sterols were found to be radioactive in each plant, and the changes in radioactivity with time were studied. The most striking finding was a radioactive phenolic material present o...

Sitosterolemia is a rare, autosomal recessively inherited disorder of lipid metabolism caused by mutations in the "ATP-binding cassette, subfamily G" member 5 and 8 proteins (encoded by the ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes, respectively), which play critical roles in the intestinal and biliary excretion of plant sterols. We report the clinical features and treatment outcomes of an 18-month-old Japanese gi...

background: salvia limbata is an aromatic herbaceous plant and grows widely in iran turkey and afghanistan. in the previous study, six flavones together with rosmarinic acid were isolated from the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of s. limbata. in this report, we focused on the isolation and identification of the glycosylated sterols and the main accumulated amino acid of the species s. limb...

The molecular mechanisms regulating the amount of dietary cholesterol retained in the body as well as the body's ability to selectively exclude other dietary sterols are poorly understood. Studies of the rare autosomal recessively inherited disease sitosterolemia (OMIM 210250) may shed some light on these processes. Patients suffering from this disease appear to hyperabsorb both cholesterol and...

The small intestine is a unique organ providing dietary and reabsorbed biliary cholesterol to the body. However, the molecular mechanisms whereby cholesterol is absorbed have not yet been fully understood. Recent research suggests that the newly identified ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters ABCG5 and ABCG8 are apical cholesterol export pumps that promote partial efflux of cholesterol and n...

A method for isolation and quantification of fecal neutral steroids is described which allows studies to be made of sterol balance in man or in small laboratory animals without requiring the use of radioisotopes in vivo. The critical separations of cholesterol plant sterols and their conversion products depend upon preliminary separations into three subfractions by thin-layer chromatography. In...

Sitosterolaemia is caused by mutations in either ABCG5 or ABCG8. Chinese and Japanese individuals usually have mutations in ABCG5. We herein report a known and a novel mutation in ABCG8 and their potential interaction with NPC1L1 polymorphisms in a Chinese family with sitosterolaemia. We sequenced ABCG5 and ABCG8 and measured the levels of plasma plant sterols in a 15-year-old Chinese girl with...