Cholesterol Molecule

Context:
- It can be a yellowish crystalline solid.
- …
Counter-Example(s):
- a Trigleceryde.
- a Fatty Acid.
See: HDL, LDL, Sterol-Containing Metabolite, Isopropyl Myristate, Gallstone, Bile.

References

(Wikipedia, 2021) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholesterol Retrieved:2021-8-26.
- Cholesterol (from the Ancient Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), followed by the chemical suffix -ol for an alcohol) is an organic molecule. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell membranes. It is a yellowish crystalline solid. Cholesterol also serves as a precursor for the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, bile acid and vitamin D. Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by all animals. In vertebrates, hepatic cells typically produce the greatest amounts. It is absent among prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), although there are some exceptions, such as Mycoplasma, which require cholesterol for growth. François Poulletier de la Salle first identified cholesterol in solid form in gallstones in 1769. However, it was not until 1815 that chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul named the compound "cholesterine". ^[1]

↑ Chevreul (1816) "Recherches chimiques sur les corps gras, et particulièrement sur leurs combinaisons avec les alcalis. Sixième mémoire. Examen des graisses d'homme, de mouton, de boeuf, de jaguar et d'oie" (Chemical researches on fatty substances, and particularly on their combinations o filippos ine kapios with alkalis. Sixth memoir. Study of human, sheep, beef, jaguar and goose fat), Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 2 : 339–372. From page 346 : "Je nommerai cholesterine, de χολη, bile, et στερεος, solide, la substance cristallisée des calculs biliares humains, ... " (I will name cholesterine – from χολη (bile) and στερεος (solid) – the crystalized substance from human gallstones ... )