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

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

From Science Daily • Dec. 7, 2023

This absence has led to speculation that before 800 million years ago, eukaryotes were not abundant enough to leave a detectable sterol trace.

From Scientific American • Jun. 13, 2023

And in 1.3-billion-year-old rocks, they found derivatives that matched the pattern produced by 24-methylene cycloartenol, which is one step further along the sterol pathway than cycloartenol.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 7, 2023

The early steps in the saponin biosynthetic pathway that are presumably regulated by TSARL1 are shared by other pathways, including sterol biosynthesis.

From Nature • Feb. 7, 2017

The cancerogenic coal tar "sterol" causes the same sex changes in rats as does the hormone theelin.

From Time Magazine Archive