Inositol
Inositol, primarily the isomer myo-inositol, is a carbocyclic sugar that is abundant in the brain and other mammalian tissues; it mediates cell signal transduction in response to a variety of hormones, neurotransmitters, and growth factors and participates in osmoregulation. Concerning regulation of osmosis, in most mammalian cells the intracellular concentrations of myo-inositol are 5 to 500 times greater than the extracellular concentrations.
Names | |
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IUPAC name
myo-Inositol | |
Systematic IUPAC name
(1R,2S,3r,4R,5S,6s)-Cyclohexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexol | |
Other names
cis-1,2,3,5-trans-4,6-Cyclohexanehexol Cyclohexanehexol Mouse antialopecia factor Nucite Phaseomannite Phaseomannitol Rat antispectacled eye factor Scyllite (for the isomer scyllo-inositol) Vitamin B8 | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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ChEBI | |
ChEMBL | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.027.295 |
KEGG | |
PubChem CID |
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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SMILES
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Properties | |
C6H12O6 | |
Molar mass | 180.16 g/mol |
Density | 1.752 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 225 to 227 °C (437 to 441 °F; 498 to 500 K) |
Pharmacology | |
A11HA07 (WHO) | |
Hazards | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) |
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Flash point | 143 °C (289 °F; 416 K) |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references |
It is a sugar alcohol with half the sweetness of sucrose (table sugar). Inositol was once considered to be a B8 vitamin before the discovery that it is made naturally in the human body from glucose, and therefore cannot be a vitamin. A human kidney makes about two grams per day. Other tissues synthesize it too, and the highest concentration is in the brain, where it plays an important role in making other neurotransmitters and some steroid hormones bind to their receptors.
Inositol is promoted as a dietary supplement in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, there is only evidence of very low quality for its efficacy in increasing fertility for IVF in women with PCOS.