A sterol database: GC/MS data and occurrence of 150 sterols in seventy-four oils

Comprehensive data on the occurrence of sterols in plant oils is currently hardly available since only a few sterols are obtainable as standard compounds. Accordingly, many peaks are rarely labeled in gas chromatograms due to missing or outdated information. This lack of information hampers the progress in sterol research. For this reason, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode (GC/MS-SIM) was used to create a database that summarizes the occurrence and semi-quantitative levels of 150 sterols with 27–32 carbon atoms and 0–4 double bonds in 66 different vegetable oils and eight other matrices. The highest number of sterols was detected in rice bran and tamanu oil (40 sterols), eggplant (39 sterols), moringa, chili seed, and amaranth oil (37 sterols). Several sterols were detected in >60 of the 74 matrices. This detailed information in the database will serve users working in food authentication and the biosynthesis of sterols. •A database reports semi-quantitative data of 150 sterols in 74 sample matrices.•GC/MS-SIM enabled the detection of 11 to 40 sterols per sample matrix.•The highest sterol number was detected in rice bran oil, tamanu oil, and eggplant.•15 different sterols contributed 25% to the sterol pattern of one or more samples.•Ten sterols were detected in >66 of the 74 sample matrices.