Ergosterol and β-sitosterol exert cholesterol-lowering effects by enhancing gut microbiota-mediated cholesterol sulfonation and total bile acid excretion in mice

in the gut. Further experiments using the intestinal pseudo-sterility model revealed that the aforementioned effects of ergosterol and β-sitosterol depend on the presence of intestinal microbiota. The findings of this study provide novel insights into the cholesterol-lowering mechanism of ergosterol and β-sitosterol: they enhance cholesterol sulfonation and total bile acid excretion mediated by gut microbiota.