phytosterol Biochem.
(faɪˈtɒstərɒl)
[f. phyto- + -sterol.]
Any of a large class of sterols which are found in plants; orig. spec. = phytosterin s.v. phyto-.
| 1898 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. LXXIV. i. 598 The soluble fat, which is dark green, consists principally of the ethereal salts of phytosterol, C26H44O + H2O (melting at 137°), and oleic and palmitic acids. 1906 Ibid. XC. ii. 311 The author has submitted a number of cholesterols and phytosterols to Neuberg and Rauchwerger's colour test. 1915 J. London Jacket v. 34 Professor Schleimer had similarly been collaborating with me in the detection of phytosterol in mixtures of animal and vegetable fats. 1939 Meyer & Anderson Plant Physiol. xxiii. 396 Cholesterol is not known to occur in the higher plants, but a number of similar compounds, known as the phytosterols, have been isolated from plant tissues. 1975 D. Jarvis tr. Hess's Plant Physiol. 108 The biosynthesis of the phytosterols..is not completely understood. |