Sitostanol

• What other names is Sitostanol known by?
• What is Sitostanol?
• How does Sitostanol work?
• Are there safety concerns?
• Dosing considerations for Sitostanol.

What other names is Sitostanol known by?

Beta-sitostanol, Bêta-sitostanol, Dihydro-beta-sitosterol, Ester de Stanol Végétal, Fucostanol, Phytostanol, Plant Stanol, Plant Stanol Esters, Stanol Végétal, Stigmastanol, 24-alpha-ethylcholestanol.

What is Sitostanol?

Sitostanol is a plant product. It is made from vegetable oils or the oil from pine tree wood pulp, and is then combined with canola oil. Sitostanol is used for prevention of heart disease and high cholesterol.

Sitostanol is an ingredient in Benecol margarine and some salad dressings. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows manufacturers of products that contain sitostanol or related plant chemicals (stanol esters) to claim that the product lowers the risk of getting coronary heart disease (CHD). The FDA reasons that sitostanol and other plant stanol esters along with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol might reduce the risk of CHD by lowering blood cholesterol levels. Although there is plenty of evidence that sitostanol does lower cholesterol levels, so far there is no proof that long-term use actually lowers the risk of developing CHD.

Do not confuse sitostanol with beta-sitosterol, an unsaturated plant sterol in the cholesterol-lowering margarine Take Control. Both sitostanol and beta-sitosterol are used for lower cholesterol levels in people with high cholesterol and appear to be equally effective.

Likely Effective for...

• Reducing cholesterol levels. Sitostanol is effective for reducing cholesterol levels in adults with high cholesterol. It doesn't have to be taken with meals to work. Cholesterol levels decrease within 2 to 3 weeks of starting sitostanol, and return to pretreament levels within 2 to 3 weeks of discontinuation. Sitostanol may not have the same effect in all people. About 12% of patients do not respond to sitostanol.
  
  People usually take sitostanol as part of a sitostanol-enriched food such as margarine. Sitostanol alone can reduce total and "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels by 10% to 15%. Research suggests a dose of about 2 grams per day lowers cholesterol the most. Higher doses do not seem to work any better. When added to a cholesterol-lowering prescription medication (one of the "statins," such as pravastatin (Pravachol) or simvastatin (Zocor), sitostanol reduces total cholesterol by an additional 3% to 11% and LDL cholesterol by another 7% to 16%.
  
  Sitostanol also seems to be effective for reducing cholesterol levels in healthy children. However, treating children is not recommended unless "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels are greater than 190 mg/dL or greater than 160 mg/dL if the child also has other risk factors for heart disease.

Possibly Effective for...

• Reducing cholesterol levels in children with an inherited tendency toward high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolemia).

Insufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for...

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate (detailed description of each of the ratings).