Essay On Cholesterol

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is an organic molecule part of the classification of biomolecules known as lipids. It is a sterol, or steroid alcohol, that is extremely important as it is a major structural component of the cell membrane in animal cells and also a precursor for the production of steroid hormones (oestrogen and testosterone), bile salts, bile acids and vitamin D. Cholesterol is a waxy substance with the chemical formula C27H46O, it consists of three 6-memebered rings and one 5-membered ring fused together, as well as an alkane chain and an alcohol(-OH) group which attributes to its slight polarity.

Why is cholesterol important in the body?

Cholesterol is present in every cell of the body, predominantly in the cell membrane but also in other organelles such as the membranes of the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticula. As a component of the cell membrane it aids the maintenance of cell integrity and plays a part in cell to cell communication which enables human functionality. The plasma membrane is composed of a phospholipid bilayer, as

This can be problematic due to the fact that blood is water-based and cholesterol is a lipid, the only polar part being one hydroxyl group in the structure. To rectify this problem, cholesterol and other lipids are transported through the bloodstream in protein-coated molecules known as lipoproteins. There are two main types of lipoproteins associated with cholesterol; high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The difference between these lipoproteins is, as the names suggest, due to their densities, which indicates the ratio of protein to lipid present. Low density lipoproteins have little amounts of protein and more fat, as opposed to high density lipoproteins. LDL is generally referred to as “bad”