Cycloartenol is an important triterpenoid often found in plants. It belongs to the

sterol A sterol is any organic compound with a Skeletal formula, skeleton closely related to Cholestanol, cholestan-3-ol. The simplest sterol is gonan-3-ol, which has a formula of , and is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom on ...

class of steroids. It is the starting point for the synthesis of almost all plant

steroid A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...

s, making them chemically distinct from the steroids of fungi and animals, which are, instead, produced from

lanosterol Lanosterol is a tetracyclic triterpenoid and is the compound from which all animal and fungal steroids are derived. By contrast, plant steroids are produced via cycloartenol. In the eyes of vertebrates, lanosterol is a natural constituent, havin ...

Synthesis

The

biosynthesis Biosynthesis, i.e., chemical synthesis occurring in biological contexts, is a term most often referring to multi-step, enzyme-Catalysis, catalyzed processes where chemical substances absorbed as nutrients (or previously converted through biosynthe ...

of cycloartenol starts from the triterpenoid squalene. It is the first precursor in the biosynthesis of other stanols and

s, referred to as phytostanols and

phytosterol Phytosterols are phytosteroids, similar to cholesterol, that serve as structural components of biological membranes of plants. They encompass plant sterols and stanol ester, stanols. More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified ...

s in

photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...

organisms and plants. The identities and distribution of phytostanols and phytosterols is characteristic of a plant species.

References

Sterols Triterpenes Cyclopropanes Pentacyclic compounds {{Alcohol-stub