Plant Sterols and Metabolic Health: Current Evidence on Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Plant sterols are naturally occurring bioactive compounds widely recognized for their cholesterol-lowering effects. This narrative review critically evaluates current evidence regarding the role of phytosterols in insulin resistance, glucose metabolism, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Literature was collected from PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar for studies Published between 2000 and 2024 using pre-defined keywords related to phytosterols, insulin resistance, and T2DM. Evidence from in-vitro and animal studies suggests that phytosterols may influence AMPK, PI3/Akt, and GLUT4 signaling pathways and may improve metabolic homeostasis. However, evidence from human clinical trials remains limited and in-consistent. Current findings strongly support the lipid-lowering benefits of phytosterols, where as their role in glycemic control requires further validation through well-designed clinical studies.
Authors
- Kalirajan Rajagopal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3382-4316)
- Partha Deb Roy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3807-2388)
- Ruchı Tıwarı (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6897-3472)
- Vadivelan Ramachandran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7927-4554)
- Venkatesh Gunasekaran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4057-520X)
- Tharani M (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7465-1525)
Institutions
- JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (IN)
- Biju Patnaik University of Technology (IN)
- PSG INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND APPLIED RESEARCH (IN)
- Singer (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Pharmacy
- Published
- 2026-09-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.52794/hujpharm.1697229
- Primary Topic
- Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- JSS College of Pharmacy
- Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India