Sterols animal

The unsaponifiable fraction of fats consists of sterols, terpenic alcohols, aliphatic alcohols, squalene, and hydrocarbons. The distribution of the various components of the unsaponifiable fraction in some fats and oils is given in Table 2-19. In most fats the major components of the unsaponifiable fraction are sterols. Animal fats contain cholesterol... 

C. A trilerpenoid or irimethylsierol, first found in the non-saponifiable material of wool wax. Lanosterol (4,4,14ot-trimethyl-5a-choiesta-8,24-dien-3 -ol) is the precursor in animals and fungi of other sterols such as... 

Fats and oils are one of the oldest classes of chemical compounds used by humans. Animal fats were prized for edibiUty, candles, lamp oils, and conversion to soap. Fats and oils are composed primarily of triglycerides (1), esters of glycerol and fatty acids. However, some oils such as sperm whale (1), jojoba (2), and orange roughy (3) are largely composed of wax esters (2). Waxes (qv) are esters of fatty acids with long-chain aUphatic alcohols, sterols, tocopherols, or similar materials. 

Sterols. Sterols (4) are tetracycHc compounds derived biologically from terpenes. They are fat-soluble and therefore are found in small quantities in fats and oils. Cholesterol [57-88-5] (4a) is a common constituent in animal fats such as lard, tallow, and butterfat. The hydroxyl group can be free or esterified with a fatty acid. 

In milk fat, cholesterol is associated with Hpoproteins in the milk fat globule. It is also a component of animal membranes and controls rigidity and permeabihty of the membranes. Cholesterol has interesting surface properties and can occur in Hquid crystalline forms. Plants contain sterols such as P-sitosterol [83-46-5] (4b) or stigmasterol [83-48-7] (4c). Their functions in plant metaboHsm are not yet well understood. Analysis of sterols has proven useful for detection of adulteration of edible fats (9). 

The quaHty, ie, level of impurities, of the fats and oils used in the manufacture of soap is important in the production of commercial products. Fats and oils are isolated from various animal and vegetable sources and contain different intrinsic impurities. These impurities may include hydrolysis products of the triglyceride, eg, fatty acid and mono/diglycerides proteinaceous materials and particulate dirt, eg, bone meal and various vitamins, pigments, phosphatides, and sterols, ie, cholesterol and tocopherol as weU as less descript odor and color bodies. These impurities affect the physical properties such as odor and color of the fats and oils and can cause additional degradation of the fats and oils upon storage. For commercial soaps, it is desirable to keep these impurities at the absolute minimum for both storage stabiHty and finished product quaHty considerations. 

Table 2. Occurrence of the Provitamins D in Selected Plants and Animals, Parts per Thousand of Total Sterol...

The solvent is then evaporated, and the unconverted sterol is recovered by precipitation from an appropriate solvent, eg, alcohol. The recovered sterol is reused in subsequent irradiations. The solvent is then evaporated to yield vitamin D resin. The resin is a pale yeUow-to-amber oil that flows freely when hot and becomes a brittie glass when cold the activity of commercial resin is 20 30 x 10 lU/g. The resin is formulated without further purification for use in animal feeds. Vitamin D can be crystallized to give the USP product from a mixture of hydrocarbon solvent and ahphatic nitrile, eg, benzene and acetonitrile, or from methyl formate (100,101). Chemical complexation has also been used for purification. 

In general, the sterols perform a structural function, for example as components of the lipid layers of membranes. The Cis, C19 and C21 steroids mainly perform an endocrine function. In other words they are hormones. The bile salts (C24-steroids) fulfil a functional role in digestion in animals. 

Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the hypocholesterolemic effect of GA (Annison et al., 1995 Tiss et al., 2001). Some studies have suggested that the viscosity of fermentable dietary fiber contributes substantially to the reduction of lipids in animals and humans (Gallaher et al., 1993 Moundras et al., 1994). However, other studies suggested that this property is not related to plasma lipids (Evans et al., 1992). The mechanism involved is clearly linked to increased bile acid excretion and fecal neutral sterol or a modification of digestion and absorption of lipids (Moundras et al., 1994). 

Cholesterol is found in many biological membrane and is the main sterol of animal organisms. It is eqnimolar with phospholipids in membranes of liver cell, erythrocytes, and myelin, whereas in human stratum comeum it lies in the outermost layer of the epidermis... 

Herbal products used for the relief of menopausal symptoms are purported to act by a number of different mechanisms. Phytoestrogens are plant sterols that are structurally similar to human and animal estrogen. Soy protein is a common source of phytoestrogens and can be found in products such as tofu, soy milk, soy flour, and tempeh. Various studies have demonstrated conflicting results as to the efficacy of... 

Sterols are seldom detected in archaeological residues due to their low concentration and the tendency to undergo chemical degradation. In any case, the presence of sterols or of their oxidation products in a sample can help distinguish between animal and plant lipid materials cholesterol is the most abundant animal sterol, while campesterol and sitosterol are the two major plant ones. 

In the stomach, carotenoids are exposed to acid environments. This can lead to carotenoid isomerization, which can change carotenoid antioxidant properties, solubility, and absorption. In humans, (3-carotene absorption is reduced when the pH of the gastric fluids is below 4.5 (Tang and others 1995). Vitamin E consumption seems to reduce carotenoid absorption in animals, presumably because vitamin E and carotenoids compete for absorption (Furr and Clark 1997). Dietary sterols, such as those in sterol-supplemented functional foods, are also known to decrease carotenoid absorption. 

Triterpenoid saponins are synthesized via the isoprenoid pathway.4 The first committed step in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis involves the cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene to one of a number of different potential products (Fig. 5.1).4,8 Most plant triterpenoid saponins are derived from oleanane or dammarane skeletons although lupanes are also common 4 This cyclization event forms a branchpoint with the sterol biosynthetic pathway in which 2,3-oxidosqualene is cyclized to cycloartenol in plants, or to lanosterol in animals and fungi. 

Biotin is a growth factor for many bacteria, protozoa, plants, and probably all higher animals. In the absence of biotin, oxalacetate decarboxylation, oxalosuccinate carboxylation, a-ketoglutarate decarboxylation, malate decarboxylation, acetoacetate synthesis, citrulline synthesis, and purine and pyrimidine syntheses, are greatly depressed or absent in cells (Mil, Tl). All of these reactions require either the removal or fixation of carbon dioxide. Together with coenzyme A, biotin participates in carboxylations such as those in fatty acid and sterol syntheses. Active C02 is thought to be a carbonic acid derivative of biotin involved in these carboxylations (L10, W10). Biotin has also been involved in... 

Sterols are minor constituents of most fats. Those of animal origin contain cholesterol and traces of other sterols, whereas plants contain phytosterols, of which p-sitosterol is the most common. Sterols occur in the free form or, after esterification to fatty acids through the 3-OH group, as steryl esters. The presence of sterols in archaeological residues can be a useful indicator of a plant or animal origin or an indicator of both if cholesterol and phytosterols are detected in the same sample. That noted, cholesterol is a potential contaminant of all archaeological samples subjected to handling. 

Soils have also been examined directly, not for evidence of possible contamination, but as a study of manuring practice in medieval to early modern Orkney, Scotland. The sterols campesterol, sitosterol, and 5/1-stigmastanol were used as biomarkers for ruminant animal manure and coprostanol for omnivorous animal manure, with hyodeoxycholic acid used to further define the manure as coming from pigs (Bull et al. 1999, Simpson et al. 1999). It is rare to be able to extract sterols from such samples because their natural abundance is generally low. If they can be found, however, then they are useful as unambiguous biomarkers for either plants or animals. 

In addition to more rapid absorption of lipids in animals fed casein, another mechanism that may be operative is decreased clearance of circulating lipids. Rabbits fed a casein-based semipurified diet excreted significantly less cholesterol but more bile acids in their feces than animals fed a commercial diet (18). The total sterol excretion in feces of the animals fed the casein diet was half that of the rabbits fed the stock diet. Huff and Carroll (19) found that rabbits fed soy protein had a much faster turnover rate of cholesterol and a significantly reduced rapidly exchangeable cholesterol pool compared with rabbits fed casein. Similar studies performed in our laboratory revealed that the mean transit time for cholesterol was 18.4 days in rabbits fed soy protein, 36.8 days in rabbits fed casein, 33.7 days in rabbits fed soy plus lysine, and 36.3 days in rabbits fed casein plus arginine. These data suggest that addition of lysine to soy protein... 

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