WATER-SOLUBLE STEROL DERIVATIVES CAPABLE OF LOWERING CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF

摘要

The present invention relates to water-soluble sterol derivatives capable of lowering cholesterol levels and a preparation method thereof. The preparation method of water-soluble sterol derivatives according to the present invention comprises: in the presence of a basic catalyst in a non-polar organic solvent, mixing a phytosterol intermediate and polyethylene glycol (PEG) having a weight average molecular weight of 200 to 1,000 at a molar ratio ranging from 1:2 to 1:6, followed by adding a coupling agent to allow a coupling reaction to occur. This method of the present invention using a PEG oligomer as a carrier and controlling the molecular structure of a product can therefore provide water-soluble sterol derivatives capable of lowering cholesterol levels, in which the derivatives are soluble in water at a high concentration of at least about 3.0% by weight with respect to sterol and safer to use for the body and thus useful as a water-soluble food or as a material of medicine.