Application Notes:
5-alpha-Cholestane is the non-hydroxy, hydrogenated form of cholesterol and is useful as an internal standard for studies involving sterols.1 Cholesterol is a sterol that is essential for all animal life, being critical for membrane permeability and fluidity and for many cellular functions. It is a sterol that is both synthesized in animals and also acquired from the diet. Phytosterols have been found to compete with cholesterol for absorption in the intestinal tract which results in a reduction of cholesterol absorption.2 Plant sterols are important components of membranes and have a particular role in the plasma membrane, mitochondrial outer membrane, and endoplasmic reticulum. Plant sterols will complex with glycosphingolipids in raft-like sub-domains and can affect many cellular functions including membrane fluidity, permeability, activity of membrane-bound enzymes, cellular differentiation, cellular signaling, and cellular proliferation. Plant sterols have been used extensively in humans to attempt to lower cholesterol and treat certain cancers.3
References:
1. R. Iborra et al. “Advanced Glycation in macrophages induces intracellular accumulation of 7-ketocholesterol and total sterols by decreasing the expression
of ABCA-1 and ABCG-1” Lipids in Health and Disease, vol. 10 pp. 1-7, 2011
2. R. Ostlund et al. “Phytosterols that are naturally present in commercial corn oil significantly reduce cholesterol absorption in humans” Am J Clin Nutr,
Vol. 75(6) pp. 1000-1004, 2002
3. A. de Jong, J. Plat, R. Mensink “Metabolic effects of plant sterols and stanols (Review)” Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Vol. 14:7 pp. 362-369, 2003