As the consumption of corn increases, the production of by-products is also increasing. In this study, functional substances and antioxidant activities of corn by-products were investigated to determine their applicability as functional materials. Total polyphenol, flavonoid contents, and ABTS antioxidant activity were the highest in leaves. The total phenolic acid content was the highest in cobs; p-coumaric and ferulic acid were the main components. Phytosterol content in leaves and stems was high at 64 and 50 days after sowing, 261.4 and 274.7 mg/100 g, respectively. β-sitosterol of the leaves and stems was the highest, 149.2 and 138.7 mg/100 g. The total phytosterol content of grains and by-products harvested 106 days after sowing was in the order of: corn silk, husk, grain, leaf, stem, and cob. Among the phytosterols, β-sitosterol was the highest, followed by stigmasterol and campesterol, and the composition was different depending on part. The total phytosterol content was the highest in husk and corn silk, but the stems and leaves, which account for 50% of the total corn biomass, also contained high phytosterol content. Therefore, corn leaves and stems are expected to be used as functional raw materials for the development of functional materials in the future.

Vegetable oils are a rich source of bioactive substances. Phytosterols in those have been known for many years for their properties for reducing blood cholesterol levels, as well as their other beneficial health effects. Phytosterols are triterpenes that are important structural components of plant cell membranes just as cholesterol does in animal cell membranes. The aim of this study was to provide consumers with information about phytosterol contents in vegetable oils in Korea market. The contents of major phytosterols (campesterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol) in 50 vegetable oils of 10 kinds (perilla oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, pine nut oil, sesame oil, canola oil, coconut oil, grape seed oil, and sunflower oil) were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. The average contents of vegetable oils containing 5 or more samples were in the order of sesame oil (334.43 mg/100 g), perilla oil (262.16 mg/100 g), grape seed oil (183.71 mg/100 g), and olive oil (68.68 mg/100 g). Phytosterol content of sesame oil and perilla oil was high among vegetable oils.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of brown rice and brown rice phytosterol on blood pressure and lipid levels in spontaneously hypertension rats (SHR). SHR were grouped according to blood pressure and fed either a control diet or experimental diets containing 50% brown rice powder or 5% brown rice phytosterol for 3 weeks. Body weight gain and epididymal fat weight were significantly reduced in the brown rice powder and brown rice phytosterol groups compared to control. Brown rice and brown rice phytosterol diets suppressed age-dependent increases in systolic blood pressure compared to control. In addition, brown rice and brown rice phytosterol diets decreased total lipid, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels in the liver, whereas serum HDL cholesterol increased. Lastly, brown rice phytosterol reduced TBARS contents in the kidney. These results suggest that brown rice and brown rice phytosterol exert antihypertensive effects that improve lipid metabolism in SHR.

대두 탈취부산물(scum)로부터 분리 정제한 식물성스테롤 처리 식이를 휜쥐에게 4주간 공급하며 혈장지질, 포도당 농도 및 혈장, 췌장, 근육조직의 인슐린 함량에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 대두 탈취부산물로부터 분리 정제한 식물성스테롤 성분의 순도는 68.3%였으며, 그 조성은 campesterol 21.4%, β-stigmasterol 62.3%, sitosterol 11.0% 및 미확인물질 5.8%였다. 식물성스테롤 처리량의 증가에 따라 0~3%(w/w) 처리군 에서의 중성지질, 총 콜레스테롤 및 인지질 함량의 감소는 비례관계가 성립하였으나 그 이상의 처리는 큰 차이가 없었다. 따라서 식물성 스테롤 처리가 혈장지질 농도와 밀접한 상관관계가 있으며, 식물성 스테롤의 적정 처리량은 3%(w/w)내외인 것으로 밝혀졌다. 한편 혈장, 근육조직의 인슐린 함량변화 등의 탄수화물 관련 조직에는 거의 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 밝혀졌다.

Recent consumption of germinated brown rice is increasing due to its health-beneficial effects. To clarify germination-dependent changes in functional compounds, 5 different types of (ordinary, glutinous rice, green-kerneled, red-colored and black-colored) rices were selected and pre- and post-germination vit E (α-, β-, γ-tocopherols and α-, γ-, δ -tocotrienols), squalene, and phytosterols (campesterol, stigmasterol, sitosterol) contents were evaluated. In the case of vit E generally decreasing tendency were observed in most cases, except for δ-tocopherol which increased by 8 to 28% in all types of rices. Significant increase in squalene contents were observed only in glutinous rice (by 31%), while other types of rices exhibited no changes or slight reduction after germination. In all tested rice types, germination significantly increased stigmasterol by 5 to 27%, while no changes or slight reductions in campesterol and sitosterol were observed. In conclusion most of tested functional compounds exhibited statistically not significant or slight changes except for stigmasterol which were increased by the process of producing germinated brown rice.

Plant fats and oils contain phytosterols as naturally occurring constituents, which are present in pure or esterified form, or conjugated as glycosides. The predominant phytosterol is sitosterol and minor components are campesterol, stigmasterol, δ7 -avenasterol and brassicasterol. They play a key role in cell membrane function of plants as cholesterol in animals. Phytosterols have been known for many years for their properties for reducing blood cholesterol levels, as well as their other beneficial health effects for cancer preventive biological-active substances. The objective of this paper is to present a description of the recent advances in phytosterols for future research.

식물유자원 중 참깨, 호두, 통밀, 미강을 원료로 하여 35 조건에서는 100rpm의 항온교반수조에서 1, 3, 6시간 단위로 추출하고, 8조건에서는 soxhlet extractor에서 1, 3, 6시간 단위로 각각 추출하여 추출방법 및 시간에 따른 최적 추출조건을 비교ㆍ분석하였다. 그 결과, 각 온도에서의 추출시간에 따른 추출율과 추출온도에 따른 추출방법의 변화는 추출율에 다소 영향을 미치는 것으로 확인되었다(p

반응표면분석에 의하여 홍화유 추출조건에 따른 campesterol, stigmasterol, -sitosterol 및 total sterol의 추출 최적화를 모니터링 하였으며, 추출온도(35∼75, X), 추출시간(1∼11시간 X), 중심합성계획으로 추출조건을 최적화하였다. campesterol 최적 추출범위는 추출온도, 추출시간 및 시료의 전처리 가공온도가 각각 59.01, 2.88시간, 75.04 이었다. 그러나 -sitosterol, s