Fecal Sterols in Infants Bile Acids and Steroids 194

Abstract The predominant sterols in feces of 31 infants have been studied by gas‐liquid chromatogaphy and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Cholesterol, β‐sitosterol, and campesterol were the predominant sterols in feces of infants under one year of age. At about the age of 1 year, coprostanol began to appear in feces; after this tiem the predominant fecal sterols were coprostanol, cholesterol, campesterol, 24a‐ethylcoprostanol, and β‐sitosterol. The sterol pattern of feces of infants from 5 months of age up to the highest age investigated (1 year and 9 months), however, was characterized by considerable individual variation