stigmasterol

[ stig-mas-tuh-rawl, -rohl ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. a crystalline, water-insoluble steroid, C 2 9 H 4 8 O, present in soybeans or calabar beans, used chiefly as a raw material in the manufacture of progesterone.

stigmasterol

/ stɪɡˈmæstəˌrɒl /

noun

1. biochem a sterol obtained from Calabar beans and soya beans and used in the manufacture of progesterone. Formula: C 29 H 47 OH

Word History and Origins

Origin of stigmasterol¹

1920–25; < New Latin ( Physo ) stigma ( physostigmine ) + sterol

Word History and Origins

Origin of stigmasterol¹

C20: from New Latin ( physo ) stigma genus name of the Calabar bean + sterol ; see physostigmine

Example Sentences

Other eukaryotes—organisms with complex cells—produce their own sterols, including stigmasterol in plants and ergosterol in fungi.

From Science Magazine

Phytosterol is not a single alcohol, but a mixture of at least two, which have been separated and studied as sitosterol, C27H43OH, and stigmasterol, C30H49OH.

From Project Gutenberg