D-手性肌醇

Inositol is a collection of nine different stereoisomers but the name is usually used to describe only the most common type of inositol, myo-inositol. Myo-inositol is the cis-1,2,3,5-trans-4,6-cyclohexanehexol and it is prepared from an aqueous extract of corn kernels by precipitation and hydrolysis of crude phytate. These molecules have structural similarities to glucose and are involved in cellular signaling. It is considered a pseudovitamin as it is a molecule that does not qualify to be an essential vitamin because even though its presence is vital in the body, a deficiency in this molecule does not translate into disease conditions. Inositol can be found as an ingredient of OTC products by Health Canada but all current product whose main ingredient is inositol are discontinued. By the FDA, inositol is considered in the list of specific substances affirmed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).