Ergosterol

• ( 22E ) - 5 ,7,22 -trien - ergosta - 3β -ol
• Ergosterol

White crystalline powder

156-158 ° C

250 ° C ( 1.3 Pa )

Practically insoluble in water

Risk

Template: Infobox chemical / molecular formula search available

Ergosterol, also called ergosterol, which is a biochemically important natural substance from the group of sterols ( sterols ), more precisely the fungal mycosterols. It is found in the cell membrane of fungi, and mycoplasma.

Ergosterol is a precursor ( pro-vitamin ) of vitamin D2 ( ergocalciferol) in which it can be photochemically converted by UV radiation (e.g. sunlight). This association was founded in 1927 from Göttingen chemist Adolf Windaus discovered (Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1928) and studied in detail in the following years; the structural formula was elucidated in 1934.

A study published in 2009 study suggests that the ergosterol content in house dust can be used as a rapid method for the detection of mold exposure indoors.