Digitonide precipitable sterols: a reevaluation with special attention to lanosterol

Journal Article · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1982 · Lipids; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02535224· OSTI ID:6943574

Cenedella, R J

The ability of digitonin to precipitate lanosterol from prepared mixtures and biological sources was evaluated. Commercially available lanosterol was determined to be composed of about 60% lanosterol and 40% dihydrolanosterol. Both sterols were only partially precipitated by digitonin under all conditions examined. The presence of cholesterol increased the precipitation of lanosterol, but never to completion. About 40% of the lanosterols from saponified sheep's-wool fat was not precipitated by digitonin. Also /sup 14/C-labeled lanosterol recovered from rat brain following intracerebral injection of 2-(/sup 14/C)mevalonate was only 70% precipitated by digitonin. Steric hinderance by the methyl groups at carbon -4 is suggesed to explain the poor precipitability of this sterol. In conclusion, lanosterol can not be considered to be a digitonide-precipitable sterol equivalent to cholesterol. Caution should be exercised in situations where digitonin-precipitable sterols are being prepared from sources containing significant concentrations of lanosterol (i.e., mass and/or radiolabel).

• Research Organization: Department of Biochemistry, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, MO
• OSTI ID: 6943574
• Journal Information: Lipids; (United States), Vol. 17:6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
CARBON 14 COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
DIGITALIS
SOLVENT PROPERTIES
LANOLIN
PRECIPITATION
BIOCHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
CHOLESTEROL
ESTERS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
KINETICS
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LIPIDS
MEDICINAL PLANTS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
REACTION KINETICS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STEROIDS
STEROLS
550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques