Comparison of the phytosterol composition of nettle root, willowherb and sabal palm

Svrha ovog rada bila je istražiti sastav i udjeli pojedinačnih i ukupnih fitosterola iz uzoraka korijena samonikle koprive, ubrane na više lokacija na području Republike Hrvatske (Istra), te ga usporediti sa sastavom fitosterola iz vrbovice i sabal palme. Za određivanje udjela i sastava sterola u uzorcima lipidnog ekstrakta korijena koprive, vrbovice i sabal palme korištena je plinska kromatografija. Najzastupljenji fitosterol u obrađenim uzorcima je β-sitosterol čiji udio u koprivi iznosi 69,64±0,22 do 81,10±0,01%, u vrbovici 68,28±0,86% te u ekstraktu sabal palme 54,05±0,09%. Sastav fitosterola korijena koprive značajno varira ovisno o lokaciji sakupljanja uzoraka (p≤0,05). Najveći udio ukupnih sterola zabilježen je kod ekstrakta sabal palme (4,84±0,01 g/kg).The aim of this study was to investigate the composition and percentage of individual and total phytosterols in wild nettle rhizomes, harvested at several locations in the Republic of Croatia (Istria) and to compare it with the composition of phytosterols from willowherb and sabal palm. The gas chromatography was used to determine the content and composition of sterols in the samples of lipid extract of nettle, willowherb and sabal palm. The most common phytosterol founded in the extracted samples was β-sitosterol with percentage of 69.64 ± 0.22-81.10 ± 0.01% in nettle extract, 68.28 ± 0.86% in willowherb extract and (54.05 ± 0.09%) in sabal palm extract. The composition of nettle rhizome phytosterols significantly varies depending on the sampling locations (p≤0,05). The highest content of the total sterols was determined in sabal palm extract (4.84 ± 0.01 g/kg)