The emerging use of mycosterols in food industry along with the current trend of extended use of bioactive phytosterols

A natural food ingredient based on ergosterol: optimization of the extraction fromAgaricus blazei, evaluation of bioactive properties and incorporation in yogurts

“…In recent years, mycosterols have gained attention from the scientific community as potential functional ingredients for the development of sterol-enriched food products and dietary supplements. 1 Numerous studies have indicated that ergosterol-rich fungi extracts are capable of reducing cholesterol absorption 2,3 and also of inhibiting its biosynthesis in the human body. 4,5 In addition, such extracts promote other health benefits such as anti-cancer, 6 antiproliferative, 7,8 antiinflammatory 9,10 and antimicrobial 11,12 effects.…”

“…16 Although some studies have reported the optimization of ergosterol production using automated fermentative processes, 17,18 a considerable volume of A. blazei fruiting bodies that do not fit into the commercial standard, and therefore are usually discarded by the mushroom producers, could be feasibly exploited for this purpose. 1 Natural ingredients with antioxidant activity could be employed as substitutes for artificial additives, which might also display an important role in the prevention of various diseases related to oxidative/nitrosative stress, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. 19,20 Correspondingly, the antimicrobial properties of some natural active compounds could delay or inhibit the development of pathogenic and/or toxin-producing microorganisms in food, thus reducing the incidence of foodborne diseases provoked by food spoilage bacteria and fungi.…”

Microencapsulation as a Tool for the Formulation of Functional Foods: The Phytosterols’ Case Study

“…Then, a series of oxidative and demethylation reactions begin, for example, methylation at C24, dehydrogenation, and isomerization of the double bond. The main phytosterols, whose structure is reported in Figure 1 are: β-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, brassicasterol, campestanol, and β-sitostanol [2]. The importance of phytosterols is due to their action of reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) Considering that the content of phytosterols naturally present in foods does not reach the dose that should be taken to observe a reduction of the LDL serum cholesterol, the production of foods fortified with phytosterols is becoming increasingly important.…”

A comparative study between conventional and non-conventional extraction techniques for the recovery of ergosterol from Agaricus blazei Murrill

“…Consumption of functional foods with hypocholesterolemic properties is reported to be an effective strategy to reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases, with the most widely used bio-based ingredients in commercial products being plant phytosterols and β-glucans (Gil-Ramírez et al, 2013). In this context, ergosterol, which is structurally similar to phytosterols, can be utilized as a natural ingredient to reduce cholesterol levels (Corrêa, Peralta, Bracht, & Ferreira, 2017). A recent cytotoxic advancement was also made with agarol, an ergosterol derivative obtained from ABM, found to induce caspase-independent apoptosis in human cancer cells, making it a promising ingredient for novel anticancer formulations (Shimizu et al, 2016).…”