• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.76-81
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• 2001

Stigmastanol, a functional agent of cholesterol-lowering in humans, was synthesized from stigmasterol. To investigate the usability as a raw material, the contents of sterol in vegetable oils and extract of soybean chaff were analyzed. The total sterol contents showed high values of 213.7 and 209.8 mg/100g in corn and soybean oils respectively. The extract of soybean chaff has played a good role as a raw material with high sterol contents. The kinetics of hydrogenation of stigmasterol was studied using a 5% Pd/AC catalyst in the temperature range of 30~$60^{\circ}$C. Increasing temperature showed a prominent decrease in conversion. The optimum temperature was $40^{\circ}$C for high yield of stigmastanol. The effects of $H_2$ pressure, agitation speed, catalyst loading, and stigmasterol concentration on reaction rate profile were also examined. From the power law model analysis using the initial rates of reaction, the reaction order was calculated as 0.705 for stigmasterol concentration and 0.147 for hydrogen pressure.