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Sterols and related compounds play essential roles in the physiology of eukaryotic organisms, and are essential for normal physiology of plants, animals, and fungi. [4] For example, cholesterol forms part of the cellular membrane in animals, where it affects the cell membrane's fluidity and serves as secondary messenger in developmental signaling.
Plant sterols are cholesterol-like molecules found in all plant foods, with the highest concentrations occurring in vegetable oils. Plant sterols are plant equivalents of cholesterol and have a very similar molecular structure. According to their structure, they can be divided into sterols and stanols, stanols being a saturated subgroup of sterols.
They encompass plant sterols and stanols. [1] More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified. [2] Free phytosterols extracted from oils are insoluble in water, relatively insoluble in oil, and soluble in alcohols. Phytosterol-enriched foods and dietary supplements have been marketed for decades. [3]
Sterol esters are a heterogeneous group of chemical compounds.They are created when the hydroxyl group of a sterol and a fatty acid undergo an esterification reaction. They can be found in trace amounts in every cell type but are highly enriched in foam cells and are common components of human skin oil.
Sterols, such as cholesterol and its derivatives, are an important component of membrane lipids, [43] along with the glycerophospholipids and sphingomyelins. Other examples of sterols are the bile acids and their conjugates, [ 44 ] which in mammals are oxidized derivatives of cholesterol and are synthesized in the liver.
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Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils. [3] [4]Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells [citation needed] and is an essential structural and signaling component of animal cell membranes.