11103-57-4

Yellow crystals or orange solid. Practically water insoluble.

Practically water insoluble.

Vitamin A is light sensitive. Also air sensitive and heat sensitive. Reacts with strong oxidizing agents. Also can react with acids . Can react exothermically with reducing agents to release hydrogen gas.

Flash point data for Vitamin A are not available. Vitamin A is probably combustible.

Retinol acetate: pale-yellow crystals (mp: about 60 °C). Once melted retinol acetate tends to yield a supercooled melt. Retinol propionate: reddish-brown oily liquid. Retinol palmitate: a fat-like, light yellow solid or a yellow oily liquid, if melted (mp: about 26 °C).

The structure of vitamin A and some of the important derivatives are shown in Figure 1. The parent structure is all-trans-retinol [CAS: 68-26-8] and its IUPAC name is (all-E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6- trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2,4,6,8-nonatetraen-1-ol. The numbering system for vitamin A derivatives parallels the system used for the carotenoids. In older literature, vitamin A compounds are named as derivatives of trimethyl cyclohexene and the side chain is named as a substituent. For retinoic acid derivatives, the carboxyl group is denoted as C-1 and the trimethyl cyclohexane ring as a substituent on C-9. The structures of vitamin A and β-carotene were elucidated by Karrer in 1930 and several derivatives of the vitamin were prepared by this group. In 1935, Wald isolated a substance found in the visual pigments of the eye and was able to show that this material was identical with Karrer’s retinaldehyde.

ChEBI: All-trans-retinol is a retinol in which all four exocyclic double bonds have E- (trans-) geometry. It has a role as a human metabolite, a mouse metabolite and a plant metabolite. It is a retinol and a vitamin A.

Vitamin A is used in the treatment of known or suspected vitamin A deficiency. Of course, vaccination is of prime importance; however, in underdeveloped countries where the rate of vaccination is low, vitamin A supplementation is a beneficial alternative.Retinoate analogs have been developed for use in the treatment of dermatological conditions such as psoriasis and acne.

Store at -20°C