Beta Sitosterol supplement review, dosage, use for prostate gland, hair loss, health benefit, research studies, can you take these pills daily, any safety issues to be concerned about?

Phytosterols include beta-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, beta-sitostanol, and campestanol.

Products over the counter
There are dozens of beta sitosterol products over the counter with different amounts of this phytosterol.

Beta Sitosterol Complex 667 mg Providing: Beta sitosterol 300 mg, Campesterol 160 mg, Stigmsterol 130 mg, Modified Citrus Pectin 30 mg
Phytosterol Complex 937 mg Yielding Beta-Sitosterol 375 mg Campesterol 187 mg Stigmasterol 131 mg

Beta sitosterol side effects
If you take more than one or two capsules you may feel nausea and a feeling of malaise. Long term studies with beta sitosterol supplementation in humans have not been published so we don't know the full range of potential side effects with beta sitosterol supplementation. There may be some effects of sexuality or libido but this is still unclear to us.

Health benefits

Anti-inflammatory benefit of beta sitosterol
Comparison of the immunomodulatory effects of the plant sterol beta-sitosterol to simvastatin in peripheral blood cells from multiple sclerosis patients.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2009 January. Desai F, Ramanathan M, Fink CS, Wilding GE, Weinstock-Guttman B, Awad AB. Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
Statins as cholesterol lowering drugs have recently shown to have ant-inflammatory properties and thus are being assessed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Dietary phytosterols such as beta-sitosterol also lower cholesterol and from preliminary studies they appear to have also anti-inflammatory properties. In this communication, we report on studies to investigate the immune influencing effects of beta sitosterol on proliferation and release of key cytokines from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Our results show that beta sitosterol is effective in modulating the secretion of pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines and suggest a potential beneficial effect of beta sitosterol in multiple sclerosis management without the side effects associated with statin therapy.

Breast Cancer and the role of beta sitosterol in the diet
beta-Sitosterol enhances tamoxifen effectiveness on breast cancer cells by affecting ceramide metabolism.
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2008 Apr; Awad AB, Barta SL, Fink CS, Bradford PG. Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the dietary phytosterol beta-sitosterol and the antiestrogen drug tamoxifen on cell growth and ceramide metabolism in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. Beta sitosterol potently activated de novo ceramide synthesis in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells by stimulating serine palmitoyltransferase activity; whereas tamoxifen promoted ceramide accumulation in both cell types by inhibiting ceramide glycosylation. These results suggest that the combination regimen of dietary beta sitosterol and tamoxiphen chemotherapy may be beneficial in the management of breast cancer patients.

Cholesterol management
Beta sitosterol supplements are used by patients who wish to lower their cholesterol levels.

Hair loss
Although preliminary studies have indicated a potential benefit of beta sitosterol supplements and hair loss, long term human studies are lacking.

Leukemia
Beta-sitosterol induces anti-proliferation and apoptosis in human leukemic U937 cells through activation of caspase-3 and induction of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2007 Jul; Department of Biochemistry, Dongeui University, College of Oriental Medicine, Busan, South Korea.
Beta-sitosterol is the main dietary phytosterol found in plants and has been shown to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in human solid tumors such as colon and breast cancers. However, the mechanism by which beta-sitosterol induces apoptosis is not completely understood in leukemic cells. This study investigated the mechanism of apoptosis induced by beta-sitosterol in human leukemic U937 cells. beta-Sitosterol induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in U937 cells in a concentration dependent manner. Our results show that beta-sitosterol potently induces apoptosis in U937 cells and that beta-sitosterol-induced apoptosis is related to the selective activation of caspase-3 and induction of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio.

Prostate gland enlargement
Beta sitosterol supplements are taken by patients who want to improve prostate health although studies regarding the use of this supplement in men with BPH are few and inconclusive.

Interaction with supplements

Pygeum Africanum - no major problems have been reported regarding the combination of pygeum and beta sitosterol.

Saw palmetto - no reports have been published regarding adverse effects with the combination of saw palmetto and beta sitosterol.

Customer inquiries
Can this phytosterol be used together with milk thistle extract?
    Probably as long as the dosages are kept low.

I have prostate enlargement and have read on a web site that beta sitosterol is the silver bullet for sufferers of an enlarged prostate gland. According to all of the claims beta sitosterol is the active ingredient in saw palmetto herb, pygeum and stinging nettle root. If true, why not just take it by itself? Prostate Power Rx has a small amount of beta sitosterol listed along with the other mentioned ingredients. Do you have an opinion on using beta sitosterol by itself? I tried Super Beta Prostate for 3 months and did not see a significant difference. Prostate Power RX seems to work better.
    We have not seen enough human studies with beta sitosterol alone to know whether it is effective by itself in shrinking an enlarged prostate gland or being effective alone in treating symptoms of BPH. There are many other substances in herbs used for prostate health that have an influence on the gland.