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The Autoxidation of Cholesterol

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Autoxidation in Food and Biological Systems

Abstract

As an unsaturated lipid, cholesterol is sensitive to air oxidation by free radical processes in the same manner as polyunsaturated fatty acids and their esters. The sensitivity of cholesterol to autoxidation under relatively mild conditions has compromised studies of the sterol throughout the 20th century up to the present time. Studies of the organic chemistry of cholesterol have not been so bothered by autoxidation, but studies of cholesterol metabolism have been greatly troubled by the intrusion of artificial oxidations upon enzymic processes. Now expanding interests in the potential biological activities of cholesterol autoxidation products render it essential that cholesterol autoxidation and its possible occurrence in foods and potential role in endogenous metabolism be fully understood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biochemistry, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, 77550, USA

    Leland L. Smith

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  1. Leland L. Smith
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Radiation Research, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., USA

    Michael G. Simic

  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Marcus Karel

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© 1980 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Smith, L.L. (1980). The Autoxidation of Cholesterol. In: Simic, M.G., Karel, M. (eds) Autoxidation in Food and Biological Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9351-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9351-2_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9353-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9351-2

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