STERYL FATTY ACYL ESTERS IN PLANTS

Steryl fatty acyl esters are widely distributed in the plant kingdom b ut detailed knowledge of their biochemistry lags somewhat behind that on the steryl ester metabolism of animals. The literature reviewed cov ers the occurrence and metabolism of plant steryl esters, the nature o f the acyl donor, the acyl and sterol specificity of the synthase enzy me, the hydrolysis of the esters and the possible functions for steryl esters in plants. The recent advances in the analytical techniques fo r the identification and quantification of the individual intact stery l esters present in complex mixtures should now encourage and facilita te new investigations on these topics to clarify the nature and role o f steryl esters in plants.