Sterol
Sterol is an organic compound with formulaC While technically alcohols, sterols are classified by biochemists as lipids (fats in the broader sense of the term).
17H
28O, whose molecule is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom in position 3 by a hydroxyl group. It is therefore an alcohol of gonane. More generally, any compounds that contain the gonane structure, additional functional groups, and/or modified ring systems derived from gonane are called steroids. Therefore, sterols are a subgroup of the steroids. They occur naturally in most eukaryotes, including plants, animals, and fungi, and can also be produced by some bacteria (however likely with different functions). The most familiar type of animal sterol is cholesterol, which is vital to cell membrane structure, and functions as a precursor to fat-soluble vitamins and steroid hormones. Names IUPAC name Other names Identifiers ChemSpider KEGG Properties C17H28O Molar mass 248.410 g·mol−1 Infobox references Contents