Use cyclodextrins, oligosaccharides that are obtained from the degradation of starch and that act by stimulating cell cultures for the production of phytosterols and other beneficial bioactive compounds for health.
This has been the patent developed by the Biology graduate, Ana Belén Sabater-Jara and the doctors Lorena Almagro and Mª Angeles Pedreño from the University of Murcia and doctor Roque Bru from the University of Alicante.
«This biotechnological procedure constitutes a new and innovative alternative to classical extraction techniques, since it is a stable production system, independent of seasonality and climatic and geographical factors on which the plants grown in the field», according to Pedreño.
Phytosterols are particularly abundant in the plant kingdom as they are present in the fruits, seeds, leaves, stems and roots of virtually all known plants. For this reason, they are also normally present in our diet.
It is estimated that the daily intake of phytosterols, which is highly variable since it depends on the eating habits of the population, is in a range that oscillates from 160 mg/day to 500 mg/day.
Effects of phytosterols on health
Previous investigations carried out on the effect that phytosterols have on human health have revealed that they have a hypocholesterolemic effect (reduction of blood cholesterol levels), since they decrease both total cholesterol and that bound to low-density proteins (LDL), so its intake prevents the onset of cardiovascular diseases.
Currently, there are other studies that indicate that phytosterols have immunomodulatory properties that could be beneficial for the prevention of colon and breast cancer and the control of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
This technology can also be applied to obtain bioactive compounds from some wild plants, since by cultivating these plants in vitro in the laboratory and applying the procedure for their stimulation, compounds that are beneficial to health are obtained and over-exploitation of that plant species is avoided. could ultimately lead to their extinction. An example of the industrial success achieved in this sense is the production of taxol, which is a compound widely used in chemotherapy against cancer.
