Saturday, August 31, 2013

Retinoic Acid: My Favorite Organic Compound

          Imagine a world where no one has to worry about acne or breakouts. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Well, there is an organic compound that can and does make that dream a reality. The name is Retinoic Acid. Retinoic acid is a nutrient used and needed by the body in small does to remain in a healthy state. The growth and development of cells is often a result of this particular compound. RA (Retinoic acid) is my favorite organic compound because it has been stretched and enhanced in many laboratories, not only to treat and, in most cases, prevent acne breakouts, but it also has been recently given orally to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia, which is a cancer that has not only affected millions all over thee world, but people I know and love. This is why this compound is special to me. The U.S. National Library of Medicine and Nation Institutes of Health shows research done in France about where the origin of RA derived from. The hypothesis is that RA may be from an earlier Metazoan time period than thought previously. They came to this conclusion by noticing tissue specific roles for Retinoic acid during the development of many different species of animals. Without Retinoic acid, we wouldn't be able to function at the same healthy capacity, so it is very important for our bodies to continue its pathway of providing us this vitamin A based compound.


Sources:

Campo-Paysaa, F, F Marietaz, V Laudet, and M Schubert. PubMed. N.p., Nov. 2008. Web. 31 Aug. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19003929>.


News Medical. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2013. <http://www.news-medical.net/health/Retinoic-Acid-What-is-Retinoic-Acid.aspx>.

-Savannah Eliseo

No comments:

Post a Comment