Mevalonic acid

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Mevalonic acid

Mevalonic acid (MVA) is a key organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of compounds such as carbonates, simple oxides of carbon and cyanides, as well as the allotropes of carbon, are considered Inorganic compound....
in biochemistry. The anion of mevalonic acid, the predominant form in biological media, is known as mevalonate.

lonic acid is very soluble in water and in polar organic solvents. It exists in equilibrium with the lactone

Lactone

A lactone is a cyclic ester in organic chemistry . It is the condensation reaction product of an alcohol functional group and a carboxylic acid group in the same molecule....
, called mevalolactone, formed by internal condensation of its terminal alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
and carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group, which has the Chemical formula -COH, usually written -COOH or -CO2H....
functional groups.

lonic acid is a precursor in the biosynthetic pathway, known as the mevalonate pathway, that produces terpene

Terpene

Terpenes are a large and varied class of hydrocarbons, produced primarily by a wide variety of plants, particularly conifers, though also by some insects such as termites or swallowtail butterflies, which emit terpenes from their osmeterium....
s and steroid

Steroid

A steroid is a terpenoid lipid characterized by a carbon skeleton with four fused rings, generally arranged in a 6-6-6-5 fashion.Steroids vary by the functional groups attached to these rings and the oxidation state of the rings....
s.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Mevalonic acid'

Start a new discussion about 'Mevalonic acid'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Chemistry

Mevalonic acid is very soluble in water and in polar organic solvents. It exists in equilibrium with the lactone

Lactone

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
and carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group, which has the Chemical formula -COH, usually written -COOH or -CO2H....
functional groups.

Biology

Mevalonic acid is a precursor in the biosynthetic pathway, known as the mevalonate pathway, that produces terpene

Terpene

Steroid

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate is an intermediate in the classical, HMG-CoA reductase pathway used by organisms in the biosynthesis of terpenes and terpenoids....
(IPP), that is in turn the basis for all terpenoids. MVA is extensively prochiral

Prochiral

In chemistry, prochiral molecules are those which can be converted from achiral to Chirality in a single step.If two identical substituents are attached to an orbital hybridisation-hybridized atom, the descriptors pro-R and pro-S are used to distinguish between the two....
and its prochiral character is what makes it an excellent base for a pathway. The 3R enantiomer

Enantiomer

In chemistry, an enantiomer is one of two stereoisomers that are Superpose complete mirror images of each other, much as one's left and right Chirality are "the same" but opposite....
is the only one that is biologically active.