Sterols in the Seeds of Job’s Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi var.ma-yuen)

Abstract

Sterols in the seeds of Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen, hatomugi in Japanese) have been investigated. As bulk sterols, campesterol, campestanol, stigmasterol, sitosterol and sitostanol were detected. It was found that sitostanol accounts for ca. 25 and 20% of the total sterols in the ‘free and bound lipids’ of the seeds, respectively. In addition to these bulk sterols, twelve minor and trace sterols were also detected. The seeds of Job’s tears is the fourth example of cereal grains in which sitostanol occurs as a major sterol, following the seeds of wheat, rye and foxtail millet.