|sīd.(ˌ)ō+ noun
Etymology: sito- + sterol
: any of several widely occurring sterols or a mixture of such sterols useful as a starting material for the synthesis of steroid hormones: as
a. : a crystalline secondary alcohol C 29 H 49 OH obtained especially from cottonseed oil, tall oil, wheat-germ oil, or cinchona bark or synthetically from stigmasterol by hydrogenation — called also beta-sitosterol
b. : a crystalline alcohol C 29 H 49 OH that is stereoisomeric with beta-sitosterol, that is the principal sterol of soybean oil, and that is also found in several invertebrates — called also gamma-sitosterol