Secosteroid
Class of chemicals derived from steroids
A secosteroid (/ˈsɛkoʊˌstɛrɔɪd/) is a type of steroid with a "broken" ring. The word secosteroid derives from the Latin verb secare meaning "to cut", and 'steroid'. Secosteroids are described as a subclass of steroids under the IUPAC nomenclature. Some sources instead describe them as compounds derived from steroids.
Types or subclasses of secosteroids are defined by the carbon atoms of the parent steroid skeleton where the ring cleavage has taken place. For example, 9,10-secosteroids are derived from cleavage of the bond between carbon atoms C9 and C10 of the steroid B-ring (similarly 5,6-secosteroids, 13,14-secosteroids, etc.).
The prototypical secosteroid is cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). Its IUPAC systematic is "(5Z,7E)-(3S)-9,10-secocholestra-5,7,10(19)-trien-3-ol".
Some nonsteroidal estrogens, like doisynolic acid (cleaved on the D ring) and allenolic acid, are also secosteroids or secosteroid-like compounds.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Secosteroid”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Cholecalciferol-numbered.svg by Keministi, Public domain
- Trimethyl steroid-nomenclature.svg by NEUROtiker (talk), Public domain
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