Sterol composition during the life cycle of the soybean and the squash

Sterol analyses were performed on soybeans and squash at intervals throughout the life cycle from seed to mature seed-bearing plant. The sterols of the soybean (24-methyl-cholesterol, stigmasterol and sitosterol) increased in quantity from that in the seed in each stage examined except for a pause or decrease prior to flowering and a decrease at senescence. Individual sterols remained in the same proportion to each other and changes in content were similar in roots and shoots. In the squash a much more complicated sterol mixture was found, composed primarily of C-7 unsaturated sterols characteristic of Cucurbitaceae. Sterol composition also increased during the life cycle except for approximately two wk in the preflowering to early flowering period. The data indicate low synthesis or high turnover of sterols (or both) in these plants in the weeks at or just prior to flowering.