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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.
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.
The predominant sterol in fungal cell membranes is ergosterol. [46] Sterols are steroids in which one of the hydrogen atoms is substituted with a hydroxyl group, at position 3 in the carbon chain. They have in common with steroids the same fused four-ring core structure. Steroids have different biological roles as hormones and signaling molecules.
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Sterols are essential for all eukaryotes. In contrast to animal and fungal cells, which contain only one major sterol, plant cells synthesize an array of sterol mixtures in which sitosterol and stigmasterol predominate. [45] Sitosterol regulates membrane fluidity and permeability in a similar manner to cholesterol in mammalian cell membranes. [46]
Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a sterol found in fungi, and named after ergot, the common name of members of the fungal genus Claviceps from which ergosterol was first isolated. Ergosterol is a component of yeast and other fungal cell membranes , serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells. [ 1 ]
Squalene has a role in topical skin lubrication and protection. [6] Most plants, fungi, and animals produce squalene as biochemical precursor in sterol biosynthesis, including cholesterol and steroid hormones in the human body. [7] [8] [9] It is also an intermediate in the biosynthesis of hopanoids in many bacteria. [10]
[2] [3] The majority of lipids found in the human body from ingesting food are triglycerides and cholesterol. [4] Other types of lipids found in the body are fatty acids and membrane lipids . Lipid metabolism is often considered the digestion and absorption process of dietary fat; however, there are two sources of fats that organisms can use to ...