Cholesterol: Bioactivities, Structural Modification, Mechanisms of Action, and Structure-Activity Relationships

Cholesterol, a steroid alcohol, was discovered by M.E. Chevreul in 1815. Cholesterol and its derivatives showed a large variety of biological properties such as anticancer activity, anticardiac activity, anti-inflammatory activity, antimicrobial activity, anti-psychotic activity, antioxidant activity, drug-loaded activity, etc. In this mini-review, the advances of structural modification of cholesterol from 2014 to 2020 were summarized. In addition, the bioactivities, mechanisms of action and structure-activity relationships of cholesterol and its related derivatives were involved.