an adsorptive matrix for example silica gel again employing a different mobile phase for example cyclohexane dichloromethane ethyl formate formic acid 35 30 30 5 each of the ergostadientriols present can then be recovered in essentially pure form using its differential mobility on the silica gel plate additionally the ergostadientriols may also be obtained in pure form from the methanol supernatant or extract by preparative high pressure liquid gas chromatography alternatively the ergostadientriols may be chemically synthesized for example ergostadientriol ii may be prepared from ergosterol by the method outlined in fieser and fieser steroids p 98 and referred to hereinabove in addition to the ergostadientriols discussed hereinabove it would appear that compounds having the structure str9 wherein r 1 may be oh u2550 o h o alkyl o acyl cooh cooalkyl or c tbd n and wherein r 2 may be str10 u2550 o or h including without limitation the various sterochemically possible connections of rings a b c and d the reduction and addition reaction produces which may be obtained by reactions involving the double bond on c 6 particularly the epoxidation and hydroxylation products and compounds having an additional double bond between c 9 and c 11 may be useful in lowering serum cholesterol levels ergostadientriol ii was compared with u03b2 sitosterol a commercially available hypocholesterolemic agent to determine its effect upon serum cholesterol levels in chicks feed a high cholesterol diet in the bioassey there were four groups of three pens per group and five chicks per pen each group was fed a high cholesterol diet for seven days prior.