Abstract
IT is well established that β-sitosterol lowers serum cholesterol-levels in animals and humans1–3. In addition it has been found that in fowls4 β-sitosterol feeding reduces cholesterol- and lipid-levels in the livers and aortas as well as in the serum, at the same time reducing the incidence of atherosclerosis. In a previous experiment5 doubt was cast on the hypothesis3 that β-sitosterol lowers serum cholesterol-levels by inhibiting intestinal absorption of cholesterol. We now report new evidence which further elucidates the nature of the action of β-sitosterol on cholesterol- and lipid-levels.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Peterson, D. W., proc. Soc. Exp. Biol., 78, 143 (1951).
Beveridge, J. M. R., Connell, W. F., Mayer, G. A., and Haust, H. L., Canad. J. Biochem. Physiol., 36, 895 (1958).
Glover, J., and Green, C., Proc. Second Intern. Conf. Biochemical Problems of Lipids, edit. by Popjak, G., and Le Breton, E., 359 (Butterworths Sci. Pub., London, 1955).
Betzien, G., Bracharz, H., Diezel, P. B., Franke, H., Kuhn, R. B., and Seidl, T., Arzneimittel-Forsch., 11, 751 (1961).
Gerson, T., Shorland, F. B., and Adams, Y., Biochem. J., 81, 584 (1961).
Gould, R. G., N.Y. Nat. Acad. Sci., 18 (2), 129 (1955).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
GERSON, T., SHORLAND, F. & DUNCKLEY, G. Effect of β-Sitosterol on Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism in the Rat. Nature 200, 579 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/200579a0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/200579a0
