Methodological Aspects of Plant Sterol and Stanol Measurement.

Cholesterol, its biosynthetic precursors, its metabolite 5α-cholestanol and plant sterols are widely used today in clinical lipid research as surrogate markers of cholesterol synthesis and absorption. Advances in analytical methods for the determination of serum noncholesterol sterols and stanols within the last century are highlighted. This review focuses on sample preparation, separation, and detection techniques. Various aspects related to sterol and stanol analysis from biological samples are discussed.