STERYL FATTY ACYL ESTERS IN PLANTS

Steryl fatty acyl esters are widely distributed in the plant kingdom but detailed knowledge of their biochemistry lags somewhat behind that on the steryl ester metabolism of animals. The literature reviewed covers the occurrence and metabolism of plant steryl esters, the nature of the acyl donor, the acyl and sterol specificity of the synthase enzyme, the hydrolysis of the esters and the possible functions for steryl esters in plants. The recent advances in the analytical techniques for the identification and quantification of the individual intact steryl esters present in complex mixtures should now encourage and facilitate new investigations on these topics to clarify the nature and role of steryl esters in plants.