Inositol

<p>Inositol and some of its mono and polyphosphates function as the basis for a number of signaling and secondary messenger molecules. They are involved in a number of biological processes</p>

<p>

<i>myo</i>-Inositol (free of phosphate) was once considered as a member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B" title="Vitamin B" class="mw-redirect">vitamin B</a> complex</p>

<p>

Inositol or its&nbsp;

phosphates and associated lipids are found in many foods, in particular fruit, especially <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantaloupe" title="Cantaloupe">cantaloupe</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_%28fruit%29" title="Orange (fruit)">oranges</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inositol#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup> In plants, the hexaphosphate of inositol, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid" title="Phytic acid">phytic acid</a> or its salts, the phytates, are found. These serve as phosphate stores in the seed. Phytic acid occurs also in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereal" title="Cereal">cereals</a> with high <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran" title="Bran">bran</a> content and also nuts and beans, but inositol when present as phytate is not directly bioavailable to humans in the diet, since it is not digestible (some food preparation techniques partly break down phytates to change this—see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid" title="Phytic acid">phytic acid</a> for details). Inositol as it occurs in certain plant-derived substances such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecithin" title="Lecithin">lecithins</a>, however, is well-absorbed and relatively bioavailable.</p>