SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1619922
This article is part of the Research TopicBioactive Compounds from Medicinal Mushrooms and Plants - Extraction and Potential Application in FoodsView all 10 articles
Effects of phytosterol-rich foods on lipid profile and inflammatory markers in patients with hyperlipidemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Nursing, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong city, China
- 2Department of Nursing, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Taiyuan, China, Taiyuan city, Shanxi Province, China
- 3Department of Central Operating Room, Shanxi Bethune Hospital Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences,Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanx, taiyuan, China
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Background: As naturally occurring compounds in plant-based foods, phytosterols have attracted attention for their lipid-modulating potential and proposed role as adjunctive therapies in managing hyperlipidemia.Nevertheless, conflicting evidence persists regarding their dual impact on dyslipidemia and subclinical inflammation.Objective: This systematic review aimed to assess the impact of phytosterol-rich foods on lipid metabolism and inflammatory responses in hyperlipidemic populations.:A thorough literature search was performed across nine databases (including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science) from their inception up to February 15, 2025. Studies included were randomized controlled trials evaluating phytosterol interventions in adults with hyperlipidemia. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Randomized Trial Risk Bias Tool, and Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.Results:This study included 14 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1,088 participants. The pooled results demonstrated statistically significant reductions in total cholesterol (TC) levels ( mean difference (MD) = -0.65, 95% CI -0.83 to -0.47, P < 0.00001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (MD = -0.52, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.38, P < 0.00001), along with a modest increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (MD = 0.08, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.10, P < 0.00001). No significant change was observed for C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (MD = -0.00, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.00, P = 0.32).
Keywords: Hyperlipidemia, Blood lipids, Inflammatory markers, Systematic review, Phytosterols
Received: 30 Apr 2025; Accepted: 11 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Zhang, Wang, Jia, Niu, Ding and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qian Zhang, Department of Nursing, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Taiyuan, China, Taiyuan city, Shanxi Province, China
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