β-sitosterol in Various Pathological Conditions: An Update

ABSTRACT

Phytosteroids are biologically active compounds found naturally in herb plasma mem-branes, with a chemical composition similar to animal plasma membrane cholesterol. It can be found in almost all fats abundant plant’s diets. One of the vital phytosterols is β-sitosterol which has several biological activities. It has been proved in various in-vivo and in-vitro research in which β-sitosterol stabilized several physiological activities like as antioxidant, CNS activity (like anti-alzheimer, anxiolytic and sedative effects, CNS depressant activity), lipid-lowering effects (like nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, anti-cancer and immunomodulatory, protective effects in pulmonary fibrosis, wound healing effects and anti-viral and COVID-19 activity. The experimental research on β-sitosterol shows that it can be used as a nutritional supplement to combat variousexisting diseases. In this review, we are high-lighting the most significant pharmacological action of β-sitosterol on the basis of available litera-ture.