A Comprehensive Review of Beneficial Effects of Phytosterols on Glycolipid Metabolism and Related Mechanisms

Phytosterols are widely distributed in various plant foods, such as nuts, grains, vegetables, and so on. Phytosterols have been broadly applied in functional foods, supplements, and pharmaceutical products due to their excellent cholesterol-lowering effect. Besides the cholesterol-lowering effect, recently, phytosterols have been found to exert a beneficial effect on glycolipid metabolism, which contributes to multiple metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and fatty liver. Constant development of new drugs with a single target fails to effectively curb the occurrence of metabolic diseases and complications, such as multiple organ damage, and phytosterols attract special attention due to varieties of biological activities, especially the regulation of glycolipid metabolism through multiple targets. Present review gives a comprehensive review of the effects of phytosterols on glycolipid metabolism and related mechanism. We also review the promising update of phytosterol in the treatment of two major metabolic diseases, including diabetes and nonalcohol fatty liver disease. This review can help to extend the understanding of the potential of phytosterols for mixed dyslipidemia and related metabolic diseases.