This document discusses various types of steroids, including their classification, structures, and functions. It describes steroid hormones like corticosteroids, sex steroids, and others. Corticosteroids include glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, which regulate processes like the immune response and electrolyte balance. Sex steroids are androgens, estrogens, and progestogens, which influence development and function of reproductive systems. The document also covers steroid-derived compounds like bile acids, phytosterols, and the insect molting hormone ecdysone.

1. Steroids
BY NABEELA JABEEN
MPHIL PHARMACOGNOSY

2. Introduction
 A steroid is an organic compound with four rings arranged in a
specific molecular configuration.
 Steriodial nucleus

3. Classification
 Development and control of reproductive tract in man e.g. estradiol,
progesterone, testosterone
 Molting of insects e.g. ecdysone
 Induction of sexual reproduction in aquatic fungi e.g antheridiol
 Therapeutic classification e.g
 digitalis (digitoxin)
 Vitamin D precursor (ergosterol)
 Oral contraceptive e.g semisynthetic estrogen and progestin
 Antiinflammatory drugs e.g corticosteroids
 Anabolic agent e.g androgen

4. Nomenclature of steroids
 A steroid is any compound that contain
“Cyclopentanohydrophenanthrene” nucleus
 Steroids are numbered and rings are letters as indicated in structural
formula of steroids
 When the ring are denoted as projections onto the plane of the paper an
atom or group attached to a ring is termed as alpha if it lies below the
plane of the paper
 If it lies above the plane of the paper is termed as beta configuration

5.  In formula, bonds in alpha confriguration are designated by broken lines
while in beta confriguration, substitution of atom or groups are
represented by hard lines
 In most steroids, rings B and C and rings C and D are fused trans
 Rings B and C either cis or trans

6. Bile acids
 Bile acids are steroid acids found predominantly in the bile of mammals
and other vertebrates.
 Different molecular forms of bile acids can be synthesized in the liver by
different species.
 Bile acids are conjugated with taurine or glycine in the liver, forming
primary bile acids. The sodium and potassium salts of bile acids are called
bile salts

7.  Primary bile acids are those synthesized by the liver.
 Secondary bile acids result from bacterial actions in the colon.
 In humans, taurocholic acid and glycocholic acid (derivatives of cholic
acid) and taurochenodeoxycholic acid and glycochenodeoxycholic
acid (derivatives of chenodeoxycholic acid) are the major bile salts in bile
and are roughly equal in concentration.

8. The conjugated salts of their 7-alpha-dehydroxylated
derivatives, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, are also found, with
derivatives of cholic, chenodeoxycholic and deoxycholic acids
accounting for over 90% of human biliary bile acids

9.  Bile acids compose about 80% of the organic compounds in bile (others
are phospholipids and cholesterol).
 An increased secretion of bile acids produces an increase in bile flow.
 The main function of bile acids is to allow digestion of dietary fats and
oils by acting as a surfactant that emulsifies them into micelles, allowing
them to be colloidally suspended in the chyme before further
processing.

10. Structures
 Cholic acid

11.  Glycocholic acid

12.  Taurocholic acid

13. Chenodeoxycholic acid

14.  Phytosterol has been completed in glycosides chapter in
which includes
 Digitalis
 Squill

15. Steroids hormones
 A steroid hormone is a steroid that acts as a hormone.
 Steroid hormones can be grouped into two classes:
 Corticosteroids (typically made in the adrenal cortex, hence cortico-)
 Sex steroids (typically made in the gonads or placenta).
 Within those two classes are five types according to
the receptors to which they
bind: glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids (corticosteroids), androg
ens, estrogens, and progestogens (sex steroids).

16. Adrenal cortex
 Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in
the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of
these hormones.
 Two main of corticosteroids,
 glucocorticoids and
 mineralocorticoids,

17.  Both are involved in a wide range of physiologic processes, including
 stress response,
 immune response, and
 regulation of inflammation,
 carbohydrate metabolism,
 protein catabolism,
 blood electrolyte levels,
 behavior

18.  Glucocorticoids are distinguished from mineralocorticoids and sex
steroids by their specific receptors, target cells, and effects.
 In technical terms, "corticosteroid" refers to both glucocorticoids and
mineralocorticoids (as both are mimics of hormones produced by
the adrenal cortex), but is often used as a synonym for "glucocorticoid."

19. Glucocorticoids
 Glucocorticoids are
chiefly produced in
the zona fasciculata of
the adrenal cortex
Mineralocorticoids
 mineralocorticoids are
synthesized in the zona
glomerulosa.
Difference between Glucocorticoids AND
Mineralocorticoids

20. Effects
 Immune
 As discussed in more detail below, glucocorticoids function through
interaction with the glucocorticoid receptor:
 up-regulate the expression of anti-inflammatory proteins.
 down-regulate the expression of proinflammatory proteins.
 Glucocorticoids are also shown to play a role in the development and
homeostasis of T lymphocytes.

21.  Metabolic
 The name "glucocorticoid" derives from early observations that
these hormones were involved in glucose metabolism.
 In the fasted state, cortisol stimulates several processes that collectively
serve to increase and maintain normal concentrations of glucose in
blood.

22.  Metabolic effects:
 Stimulation of gluconeogenesis, in particular, in the liver: This pathway
results in the synthesis of glucose from nonhexose substrates, such
as amino acids and glycerol from triglyceride breakdown, and is
particularly important in carnivores and certain herbivores.
 Enhancing the expression of enzymes involved in gluconeogenesis is
probably the best-known metabolic function of glucocorticoids

23.  Mobilization of amino acids from extrahepatic tissues: These serve as
substrates for gluconeogenesis.
 Inhibition of glucose uptake in muscle and adipose tissue: A mechanism
to conserve glucose
 Stimulation of fat breakdown in adipose tissue: The fatty acids released
by lipolysis are used for production of energy in tissues like muscle, and
the released glycerol provide another substrate for gluconeogenesis.

24. Cortisone

25. Mineralocorticoids
 Mineralocorticoids are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class
of steroid hormones.
 Mineralocorticoids are corticosteroids that influence salt and water
balances (electrolyte balance and fluid balance).
 The primary mineralocorticoid is aldosterone, notable for
an aldehyde group at the 18 position.

26. Effects
 The name mineralocorticoid derives from early observations that these
hormones were involved in the retention of sodium, a mineral.
 The primary endogenous mineralocorticoid is aldosterone,
 Although a number of other endogenous hormones
(including progesterone and deoxycorticosterone) have
mineralocorticoid function.

27.  Aldosterone acts on the kidneys to provide active reabsorption of sodium
and an associated passive reabsorption of water,
 As well as the active secretion of potassium in the principal cells of the
cortical collecting tubule and active secretion of protons via
proton ATPases in the lumenal membrane of the intercalated cells of
the collecting tubule.
 This in turn results in an increase of blood pressure and blood volume.

28.  Aldosterone is produced in the zona glomerulosa of the cortex of
the adrenal gland and its secretion is mediated principally by angiotensin
II but also by adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and
local potassium levels.

29. Sex steroids
 Sex steroids, also known as gonadal steroids, are steroid
hormones with vertebrate androgen or estrogen receptor.
 Their effects are mediated by slow genomic mechanisms through nuclear
receptors as well as by fast nongenomic mechanisms through membrane-
associated receptors and signaling cascades.
 The term sex hormone is nearly always synonymous with sex steroid. The
non-steroid hormones luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating
hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone are usually not regarded as
sex hormones, although they play major sex-related roles.

30. Production
 Natural sex steroids are made by the gonads (ovaries or testes),
by adrenal glands, or by conversion from other sex steroids in other
tissue such as liver or fat.

31. Types
 In many contexts, the two main classes of sex steroids are androgens and
estrogens, of which the most important human derivatives
are testosterone and estradiol, respectively.
 Other contexts will include progestogens as a third class of sex steroids,
distinct from androgens and estrogens.

32.  Progesterone is the most important and only naturally occurring human
progestogen.
 In general, androgens are considered "male sex hormones", since they
have masculinizing effects,
 while estrogens and progestogens are considered "female sex hormones“
although all types are present in each sex, albeit at different levels.

33.  Sex steroids include:
 Androgens
 Androstenedione
 Dehydroepiandrosterone
 Dihydrotestosterone
 Testosterone
 Estrogens
 Estradiol
 Estriol
 Estrone
 Progestogens
 Progesterone

34. Androgen
 An androgen (from Greek andro meaning male human being) is any
natural or synthetic compound, usually a steroid hormone, that stimulates
or controls the development and maintenance of male characteristics
in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors.
 This includes the activity of the primary male sex organs and
development of male secondary sex characteristics.
 Androgens were first discovered in 1936.

35.  Androgens increase in both boys and girls during puberty. Androgens are
also the original anabolic steroids and the precursor of all estrogens. The
primary and most well-known androgen is testosterone.
 Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and androstenedione are less known
generally, but are of equal importance in male development.
 DHT in the embryo life causes differentiation of penis, scrotum and
prostate.

36.  Later in life DHT contributes to balding, prostate growth and sebaceous
gland activity.
 Although androgens are described as male sex hormones, both males
and females have them to varying degrees, as is also true of estrogens.
 They are one of three types of sex hormones, the others
being estrogens like estradiol and progestogens like progesterone.

37. Androgen

38. Estrogen
 Estrogen (American English) or oestrogen (British English) is the
primary female sex hormone as well as a medication.
 It is responsible for the development and regulation of the
female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.
 Estrogen may also refer to any substance, natural or synthetic, that
mimics the effects of the natural hormone.
 The estrane steroid estradiol is the most potent and
prevalent endogenous estrogen, although several metabolites of
estradiol also have estrogenic hormonal activity

39.  Estrogens are used as medications as part of some oral contraceptives,
in hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal, hypogonadal,
and transgender women, and in the treatment of certain hormone-
sensitive cancers like prostate cancer and breast cancer
 Estrogens are synthesized in all vertebrates as well as some insects.

40.  The three major naturally occurring forms of estrogen in women
are estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3).
 Another type of estrogen called estetrol (E4) is produced only during
pregnancy.
 Quantitatively, estrogens circulate at lower levels than androgens in both
men and women.
 While estrogen levels are significantly lower in males compared to
females, estrogens nevertheless also have important physiological roles
in males.

41. ESTROGEN

42.  Progestogens, also sometimes spelled progestagens or gestagens, are a
class of steroid hormones that bind to and activate the progesterone
receptor (PR).
 Progesterone is the major and most important progestogen in the body,
while progestins are syntheticprogestogens

43.  Major examples of progestins include the 17α-
hydroxyprogesterone derivative medroxyprogesterone acetate and
the 19-nortestosterone derivative norethisterone (norethindrone).
 The progestogens are named for their function in
maintaining pregnancy(i.e., progestational), although they are also
present at other phases of the estrous and menstrual cycles.

44. PROGESTERON

45. Withanolide (phytosterol)
 Withanolides are a group of at least 300 naturally occurring steroids built
on an ergostane skeleton.
 They occur as secondary metabolites primarily in genera of
the Nightshade family, for example in the tomatillo.
 Structurally, withanolides consist of a steroid backbone bound to
a lactone or one of its derivatives; they are produced via oxidation of
steroids.
 It remains unknown to what end withanolides are produced; they may
act as deterrent for feeding insect larva and other herbivores.

46. uses
 Anticancer
 Radiosensitizing
 Antibacterial
 Immunomodulatory
 Antioxidant
 Hepatoprotective
 Antistress
 Anti-inflammatory Withanolide

47. Ecdysone
 a steroid hormone that controls moulting in insects and other arthropods.
 Ecdysone is a steroidal prohormone of the major insect molting hormone 20-
hydroxyecdysone, which is secreted from the prothoracic glands.
 Insect molting hormones (ecdysone and its homologues) are generally
called ecdysteroids.
 Ecdysteroids act as moulting hormones of arthropods but also occur in other
related phyla where they can play different roles.

48.  In Drosophila melanogaster, an increase in ecdysone concentration
induces the expression of genes coding for proteins that the larva
requires, and it causes chromosome puffs (sites of high expression) to
form in polytene chromosomes.
 Ecdysteroids also appear in many plants mostly as a protection agent
(toxins or antifeedants) against herbivorous insects.
 These phytoecdysteroids have been reputed to have medicinal value and
are part of herbal adaptogenic remedies like Cordyceps, yet an
ecdysteroid precursor in plants has been shown to have cytotoxic
properties.