Gram-scale chromatographic purification of β-sitosterol

An effective purification method for β-sitosterol was developed starting from a commercial source of a phytosterol mixture using preparative adsorption column chromatography. β-Sitosterol (≥95% purity) was obtained on a gram-scale. Thus, the synthesis of six β-sitosterol oxides, including 7α-hydroxy, 7β-hydroxy, 5,6α-epoxy, 5,6β-epoxy, 7-keto, and 5α,6β-dihydroxysitosterol, were successfully carried out. The spectral characteristics of all the synthetic intermediates and target compounds (∼95% purity) were well-documented.