NLRP3 and Hepatic fibrosis: Beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol have been reported to mitigate hepatic fibrosis via modulation of MAPK, NF-κB, and NLRP3 pathways (Devaraj et al., 2020; Wang X. et al., 2025; Han et al., 2024) and intersect with cAMP-related signaling in other systems (beta--sitosterol: cAMP/NF-κB in osteoclasts; stigmasterol: cAMP-CREB in the nervous system) (Guo et al., 2025; Haque et al., 2018), supporting a mechanistic link to the cAMP–PKA–CREB activation observed here.