Title of article :
Composition and Sources of Sterols in Pulau Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia
Author/Authors :
Masni, Mohd Ali Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia - School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences Faculty of Science and Technology, Malaysia , Norfariza, Humrawali Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia - School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences Faculty of Science and Technology, Malaysia , Latif, Mohd Talib Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia - School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences Faculty of Science and Technology, Malaysia , Pauzi Zakaria, Mohamad Universiti Putra Malaysia - Faculty of Environmental Studies, Malaysia
Abstract :
This study explores the role of sterols as lipid biomarkers to indicate their input which originates from various sources in the marine environment. Sterols and their ratios were investigated in sediments taken from sixteen sampling stations at Pulau Tinggi, Johor in order to assess the sources of organic matter. The compounds extracted from the sediments were quantified using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The distributions of sterols indicated that organic matter at all sampling stations originated from a mixture of marine source and terrestrial origins at different proportions. A total of eleven sterols were quantified, with the major compounds being phytosterols (44% of total sterols), cholesterol (11%), brassicasterol (11%) and fecal sterols (12%).
Keywords :
Cholesterol , fecal sterol , lipid biomarker , phytosterol
