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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.
The best known sterol is cholesterol, which is found in humans. Cholesterol also occurs naturally in other eukaryote cell membranes. Sterols have a hydrophobic four-membered fused ring rigid structure, and a small polar head group. Cholesterol is bio-synthesised from mevalonate via a squalene cyclisation of terpenoids.
[2] [3] The most familiar type of animal sterol is cholesterol, which is vital to the structure of the cell membrane, and functions as a precursor to fat-soluble vitamins and steroid hormones. While technically alcohols, sterols are classified by biochemists as lipids (fats in the broader sense of the term).
Structures of some common lipids. At the top are cholesterol [1] and oleic acid. [2]: 328 The middle structure is a triglyceride composed of oleoyl, stearoyl, and palmitoyl chains attached to a glycerol backbone. At the bottom is the common phospholipid phosphatidylcholine.
"Cholesterol is an essential nutrient ... structure of the cells of our body and can also be modified to make hormones such as estrogen and testosterone." Dr. Ni says dietary cholesterol is mainly ...
The external shell also contains phospholipids and cholesterol. All cells use and rely on fats and cholesterol as building blocks to create the multiple membranes that cells use both to control internal water content and internal water-soluble elements and to organize their internal structure and protein enzymatic systems. The outer shell of ...
They are hydrolyzed by pancreatic enzymes, such as cholesterol esterase, to produce cholesterol and free fatty acids. [1] They are associated with atherosclerosis. [2] Cholesteryl ester is found in human brains as lipid droplets which store and transport cholesterol. [3]
[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 ...