Lipids-cholesterol Flashcards
what is cholesterol
A steroid alcohol , a type of lipid which is not made of glycerol or fatty acid.It has 4 C based isoprene units.
What allows cholesterol to sit in the middle of the hydrophobic part of the the bilayer
It’s small and hydrophobic
What does cholesterol do
Regulates the fluidity of the membranes
What does cholestorol do to fatty acid tails when temperature is too high
It binds to the tails which makes them pack more closely , making the fatty acid tails more rigid and less fluid
What does cholesterol do to the fatty acid tails when the temperature is too low
Cholesterol stops the fatty acid tails from packing too close which makes fatty acid tails less rigid and more fluid
Is cholesterol present in prokaryotic membranes
No only eukaryotic
Where is cholesterol made in animals
In their liver
Where is cholesterol in plants
In their membranes they have cholesterol derivative which is called stigmasterol
How is cholesterol derivative(stigmasterol) different from cholesterol
It has a double bond between carbon 22 and 23
You should be able to recognise the structure of cholesterol so search it up
What are the steroid hormones testosterone, oestrogen and vitamin D made of
Cholesterol
Why can testosterone, oestrogen and vitamin D pass though the hydrophobic part of the cell membrane and any other membrane in the cell
They are small and hydrophobic
