Effects of sitosterol and sitostanol on micellar solubility of cholesterol

The influence of sitosterol and sitostanol on the solubility of cholesterol in mixed bile salt micelles in vitro and in vivo was investigated to examine the mechanism by which sitostanol inhibits cholesterol absorption more than does sitosterol. Both sitosterol and sitostanol decreased micellar solubility of cholesterol to a similar extent, when determined with the turbidity. Also, these sterols reduced the concentration of cholesterol in micelles, both in vitro and in vivo. The extent of the reduction of micellar solubility of cholesterol by these sterols was almost the same in vitro, whereas sitostanol tended to reduce the solubility more effectively than sitosterol in vivo. Thus, the interference with cholesterol solubilization in vivo may be responsible for effective inhibition of cholesterol absorption by sitostanol. Since the effect of sitostanol was not observed in vitro, there is a possibility that another factor(s) not included in the in vitro system might affect the action of sitostanol on micellar solubility of cholesterol in vivo.