What is sterol?

Sterol is a specific type of lipid, which consists of four fused carbon circles with one oxygen molecule at the end. Prototypical sterol is cholesterol, which has been highly studied for its effects on health. Steroids such as estrogen hormones and testosterone are also considered sterols. ergosterol is a fungal sterol whose synthesis serves as a target for antifungal drugs, while phytosterols are plant compounds that are sterols. Hopanoids are bacterial compounds that share certain similarities to sterols.

lipids are oily compounds that cannot be dissolved in water. Steroids are a special type of lipid that has a group of four carbon rings that are connected together. Unlike most lipids, they do not have the tail of fatty acids. Sterol is a subgroup of steroids that has oxygen at the end of the molecule.

cholesterol is sterol, which is very important for normal cell functioning. It is vital part of animal bThe zen membrane is essential for their stability and fluency. It is also a precursor molecule for many other compounds, including steroid hormones such as estrogen, testosterone and cortisol. Vitamin D is made of cholesterol and the activated form of vitamin D is sterol.

While cholesterol can be obtained from the diet, most body cholesterol is synthesized by the liver from saturated fats that have been consumed. Some forms of cholesterol can travel in the bloodstream. Different forms of these substances have radically different effects on human health.

Lipoproteins with low density (LDL) are referred to as bad cholesterol . This name is due to the fact that it can level the walls of arteries and increase the susceptibility to heart attack and stroke. In contrast, lipoproteins with high density (HDL) bind to extra cholesterol in the blood and transfer to the liver, where the removed is from the system. For these reasons is a pomThe two types of cholesterol are more important than the amount of total cholesterol.

ergosterol serves an analogous to cholesterol, but in fungal cell membranes. Because people are not present, the enzyme that synthesizes creates attractive goals for antifungal drugs. Several drug classes are used clinically as ergosterol biosynthetic inhibitors to treat fungal infections in humans and as fungicides on plants. Some of these compounds are also used to treat Protozoan infections such as West African Sleeping Disease.

phytosterol is a type of sterol found in plants and primarily obtained in the diet of vegetable oils. There is evidence that it can prevent the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines. However, there is some concern that it can also disrupt the absorption of important nutrients. Examples of phytosterol are Campesterol and sitosterol .

Hopanoids are compounds found in bacterial membranes. They are not sterols but have structuresFused circles that share a partial similarity to these compounds. Hopanoids serve the function in bacterial membranes similar to cholesterol function in animal membranes.