Sterol composition in muscle and viscera of the marine bivalve Megangulus zyonoensis from coastal waters of Hokkaido, northern Japan.

Sterol composition in muscle and viscera tissues of the marine bivalve Megangulus zyonoensis was investigated. Among 13 different sterols identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of their trimethylsilyl ether derivatives, cholesterol was the most abundant sterol, followed by 24-methylenecholesterol, in both muscle and viscera tissues. In this study, the proportion of brassicasterol, in addition to that of cholesterol, differed between the muscle and viscera.