3hydroxy5cholan24oic

3hydroxy5cholan24oic is a shorthand designation for a bile acid framework in the cholanoic acid family, corresponding to the structural core described as 3-hydroxy-5-cholanoic-24-oic acid. The name denotes a steroidal skeleton (the cholane nucleus) with a hydroxyl group at position 3 and a carboxyl group at the terminal side-chain carbon 24. The exact three-dimensional stereochemistry (for example, α or β orientation) is not specified by this name, and several isomers can share the same basic descriptor.

Structure and properties

The molecule is a 24-carbon steroid acid with amphipathic character arising from both hydrophilic (hydroxyl and carboxyl groups) and hydrophobic regions. In bile acids, the cholanoic framework serves as the parent structure from which specific acids differ by the pattern and number of hydroxy substitutions and by ring stereochemistry. As a free acid, 3-hydroxy-5-cholanoic-24-oic acid is typically functionally related to other bile acids that form conjugates with amino acids such as glycine or taurine to yield bile salts.

Biological context

Bile acids are produced in the liver from cholesterol and play a central role in lipid digestion by emulsifying fats. The core 3-hydroxy-5-cholanoic skeleton is common to several physiologically important acids, with diversity arising from additional hydroxylations and conjugations. In humans and many mammals, variations on this core give rise to cholic, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, and lithocholic acids, among others, each with distinct detergent properties and biological behaviors.

Synonyms and classification

Synonyms include 3-hydroxy-5-cholanoic-24-oic acid and related names describing the same cholanoic framework. It is best regarded as a structural core rather than a single, well-defined compound, differing from specific named bile acids by stereochemistry and hydroxylation pattern.