The main feature, as in all lipids, is the large number of carbon-hydrogens which make steroids non-polar. Steroids include such well known compounds as cholesterol, sex hormones, birth control pills, cortisone, and anabolic steroids. read more
Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes which alter membrane fluidity; and as signaling molecules. Hundreds of steroids are found in plants, animals and fungi. All steroids are manufactured in cells from the sterols lanosterol (animals and fungi) or cycloartenol (plants). read more
Cholesterol; Structures of Sex Hormones; Adrenocorticoid Hormones; Contributors; One major class of lipids is the steroids, which have structures totally different from the other classes of lipids. The main feature of steroids is the ring system of three cyclohexanes and one cyclopentane in a fused ring system as shown below. read more
Another major class of lipids is steroids, which have structures totally different from the other classes of lipids. The main feature of steroids is the ring system of three cyclohexanes and one cyclopentane in a fused ring system as shown below. read more
Progestogens are the precursors of all other human steroids, and all human tissues which produce steroids must first convert cholesterol to pregnenolone. This conversion is the rate-limiting step of steroid synthesis, which occurs inside the mitochondrion of the respective tissue. read more