i-Inositol is a chemical compound, associated lipids are found in many foods, in particular fruit, especially cantaloupe and oranges.
Inositol appears as white crystals or a crystalline powder. It is odorless and has a sweet taste. Its relative density is 1.752 in the anhydrous form and 1.524 in the dihydrate form. It melts at 225–227 °C (anhydrous) and at 218 °C (dihydrate), and boils at approximately 319 °C. It is soluble in water (14 g/100 mL at 25 °C; 28 g/100 mL at 60 °C), slightly soluble in ethanol, acetic acid, ethylene glycol, and glycerol, but insoluble in ether, acetone, and chloroform. It is stable in air and exhibits stability towards heat, acids, and alkalis; however, it is hygroscopic.
Inositol (hexahydroxycyclohexane) is a widely distributed natural constituent of plant and animal tissues. The animal tissues richest in inositol are the brain, heart, stomach, kidney, spleen, and liver, where it occurs free or as a component of phospholipids. Among plants, cereals are rich sources of inositol, particularly in the form of polyphosphoric acid esters, called phytic acids. Although there are several possible optically active and inactive isomers, considerations of inositol as a food additive refer specifically to the optically inactive cis-1,2,3,5-trans-4,6-cyclohexanehexol, which is preferably designated myo-inositol. Pure inositol is a stable, white, sweet, crystalline compound. The Food Chemicals Codex specifies that it assay not less than 97.0 percent, melt between 224 and 227°, and contain not more than 3 ppm arsenic, 10 ppm lead, 20 ppm heavy metals (as Pb), 60 ppm sulfate, and 50 ppm chloride.Inositol was thought for a time to be a vitamin because experimental animals on a synthetic diet developed clinical signs that were corrected by inositol supplementation. However, no cofactor or catalytic function for inositol has been found; it can be synthesized and occurs in relatively high concentration in animal tissues. These factors argue against its classification as a vitamin. A dietary requirement in man has not been established.
Inositol is a cyclic carbohydrate with the molecular formula C₆H₁₂O₆ and a relative molecular mass of 180.16. It appears as white crystals or a white crystalline powder, is odourless, has a slightly sweet taste, readily absorbs moisture, and has a melting point of 220–225 °C and a boiling point of 319 °C. It is readily soluble in water, forming a neutral aqueous solution, and slightly soluble in organic solvents such as alcohol, glacial acetic acid, and glycerol. Research indicates that thermally fused inositol forms metastable amorphous crystals under freezing conditions.Containing six hydroxyl groups, inositol is also known as cyclohexanehexol. Theoretically, nine possible isomers exist: myo-inositol (MI), D-chiro-inositol (DCI), allo-inositol, cis-inositol, epi-inositol, muco-inositol, neo-inositol, scyllo-inositol, and L-chiro-inositol (LCI). Among these, DCI and LCI lack a plane of symmetry and are thus chiral molecules. Inositol typically exists in a free form within animal organisms, with MI and DCI performing multiple biological functions.
ChEBI: Inositol is an inositol having myo-configuration. It is a natural sugar found in cell membrane phospholipids, plasma lipoproteins, and (as the phosphate form) in the nucleus with potential chemopreventive properties. As one of a number of intracellular phosphate compounds, inositol is involved in cell signaling and may stimulate tumor cell differentiation.