Sterols 1. Cholesterol and Cholesterol Esters

In animal tissues, cholesterol (cholest-5-en-3β-ol) is by far the most abundant member of a family of polycyclic compounds known as sterols (see also our web pages on plant sterols, oxysterols, etc.). It can also be described as a polyisoprenoid or a triterpene because of its biosynthetic origin. It was first recognized as a component of gallstones as long ago as 1770, while the great French lipid chemist Chevreul isolated it as a single pure substance in 1815. However, it was well into the 20 century before the structure was fully defined by the German Chemist Heinrich Wieland, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in 1927, the first of many so honoured for research on cholesterol and its metabolism.