Cholestanol
5β-Coprostanol (5β-cholestan-3β-ol) is a 27-carbon stanol formed from the biohydrogenation of cholesterol (cholest-5en-3β-ol) in the Gut (zoology), gut of most higher animals and birds. This compound has frequently been used as a biomarker for the presence of human feces, faecal matter in the Ecosystem, environment. Chemical properties Solubility 5β-coprostanol has a low water solubility, and consequently a high octanol-water partition coefficient (log Kow = 8.82). This means that in most environmental systems, 5β-coprostanol will be associated with the solid phase. Degradation In Hypoxia (environmental), anaerobic sediments and soils, 5β-coprostanol is stable for many hundreds of years enabling it to be used as an indicator of past faecal discharges. As such, records of 5β-coprostanol from paleo-environmental archives have been used to further constrain the timing of human settlements in a region, as well as reconstruct relative changes in human populations and agricu ...
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