Sterols in the digestive gland-gonad (DGG) complex of Biomphalaria glabrata (Gastropoda) infected with patent larval stages of Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda) versus uninfected control snails were studied by gas-liquid chromatography. The major sterol present in both populations was cholesterol, 59% in the infected snails and 51% in the controls. Infected snails contained the same phytosterols as the controls—desmosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, and beta-sitosterol–but the percent composition was reduced. The reduction was significant for both campesterol and stigmasterol.
