Stigmasterol and β-sitosterol has beneficial effects on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. - GreenMedInfo Summary

To study the effects of stigmasterol andβ-sitosterol on high-fat Western diet (HFWD)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), lipidomic analyses were conducted in liver samples collected after 33 weeks of the treatment. Principal component analysis showed these phytosterols were effective in protecting against HFWD-induced NAFLD. Orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) and S-plots showed that triacylglycerols (TGs), phosphatidylcholines, cholesteryl esters, diacylglycerols, and free fatty acids (FFAs) were the major lipid species contributing to these discriminations. The alleviation ofNAFLD is mainly associated with decreases in hepatic cholesterol, TGs with polyunsaturated fatty acids, and alterations of free hepatic FFA. In conclusion, phytosterols, at a dose comparable to that suggested for humans by the FDA for the reduction of plasma cholesterol levels, are shown to protectagainst NAFLD in this long-term (33-week) study.