• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.217-223
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• 2021

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.