sterol

American  

[steer-awl, -ol, ster-] / ˈstɪər ɔl, -ɒl, ˈstɛr- /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. any of a group of solid, mostly unsaturated, polycyclic alcohols, as cholesterol and ergosterol, derived from plants or animals.

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sterol British  

/ ˈstɛrɒl /

noun

1. biochem any of a group of natural steroid alcohols, such as cholesterol and ergosterol, that are waxy insoluble substances

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sterol Scientific  

/ stîr′ôl′ /

1. Any of various alcohols having the structure of a steroid, usually with a hydroxyl group (OH) attached to the third carbon atom. Sterols are found in the tissues of animals, plants, fungi, and yeasts and include cholesterol.

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Etymology

Origin of sterol

1910–15; extracted from such words as cholesterol, ergosterol, etc.

Example Sentences

Sterol has always proved very difficult to manufacture, but Prof Wright has led a group of scientists for 15 years to identify which exact sterols bees need and how engineer them.

From BBC

Traces of sterol lipids, which come from cell membranes, have been found in rocks up to 1.6 billion years old.

From Science Daily

In the new work, Burke's group worked again with Rienstra's group to find that AmB similarly kills human kidney cells by extracting cholesterol, the most common sterol in people.

From Science Daily

But cholesterol, a closely related sterol, performs much the same function in human cells.

From Science Magazine

Most modern eukaryotes rely on fat-like compounds called sterols, such as cholesterol, to build cell membranes and carry out other cellular functions.

From Scientific American