Inositol - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition inositol

Definition :

A white crystalline substance C6H12O6 with a sweet taste widely distributed in certain animal tissues and fluids particularly in the muscles of the heart and lungs and also in some plants as in unripe pease beans potato sprouts etc Although isomeric with dextrose it has no carbonyl aldehyde or ketone group and is therefore not a carbohydrate but a derivative of cyclohexane Called also inosite cyclohexitol cyclohexanehexol hexahydroxycyclohexane and phaseomannite There are nine possible steroisomers not all of which are found naturally The predominate natural form is cis 1235 trans 46 cyclohexanehexol also called myo inositol The naturally occurring phytic acid in plants is the hexaphosphate of inositol from which inositol may be manufactured phytin is the calcium magnesium salt of phytic acid It is also a component of phosphatidylinositol