In general , markers for cholesterol absorption and synthesis displayed reciprocal patterns , showing that cholesterol metabolism is tightly regulated by the interplay of intestinal absorption and endogenous synthesis .
Distinctive patterns for cholesterol absorption or cholesterol synthesis could be identified , suggesting that metabolic disorders can be classified as ' cholesterol absorbers or cholesterol synthesizers ' .
Non-cholesterol sterols are vali date d biomarkers for intestinal cholesterol absorption and endogenous cholesterol synthesis .
However , their use in metabolic disturbances has not been systematic ally explored .
Therefore , we conducted a systematic review to provide an overview of non-cholesterol sterols as markers for cholesterol metabolism in different metabolic disorders .
Serum plant sterols and cholesterol precursors reflect cholesterol absorption and synthesis in volunteers of a randomly selected male population.
To investigate the regulation of serum levels of cholesterol precursor sterols and plant sterols , these noncholesterol sterols , fatty acids , and various parameters of cholesterol metabolism were analyzed in 63 volunteers from a r and omly selected Finnish male population sample of 100 subjects , aged 50 years , who had normal dietary habits .  Serum levels of cholesterol precursors , desmosterol and lathosterol  ( in terms of micrograms/mg cholesterol ) , were negatively related to both the fractional and absolute absorption of dietary cholesterol and serum high density lipoprotein ( HDL ) cholesterol , and positively related to overall cholesterol synthesis and serum very low density lipoprotein ( VLDL ) cholesterol . Serum levels of the plant sterols , campesterol and sitosterol , exhibited positive correlations with the polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio of dietary fat , the linoleic acid contents of plasma and dietary lipids , the amount of dietary plant sterols ( as indicated by fecal output ) , fractional and absolute absorption of dietary cholesterol , and HDL cholesterol , but were inversely related to the overall cholesterol synthesis and VLDL cholesterol . Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the serum level of campesterol was associated with fractional cholesterol absorption , dietary plant sterols , and biliary cholesterol secretion , and that of sitosterol with dietary plant sterols , cholesterol synthesis , fractional cholesterol absorption , and biliary cholesterol secretion . Thus , the serum non-cholesterol sterols are significant indicators of cholesterol absorption and synthesis even under basal conditions and , since gas liquid chromatographic determination of these sterols is quite simple , their measurement may be valuable for monitoring cholesterol metabolism in large-scale epidemiologic studies
In general , markers for cholesterol absorption and synthesis displayed reciprocal patterns , showing that cholesterol metabolism is tightly regulated by the interplay of intestinal absorption and endogenous synthesis .
Distinctive patterns for cholesterol absorption or cholesterol synthesis could be identified , suggesting that metabolic disorders can be classified as ' cholesterol absorbers or cholesterol synthesizers ' .
Non-cholesterol sterols are vali date d biomarkers for intestinal cholesterol absorption and endogenous cholesterol synthesis .
However , their use in metabolic disturbances has not been systematic ally explored .
Therefore , we conducted a systematic review to provide an overview of non-cholesterol sterols as markers for cholesterol metabolism in different metabolic disorders .