7-dehydrocholesterol
Sunlight-activated vitamin source
7-dehydrocholesterol is a sterol found in the skin that converts to vitamin D3 when exposed to ultraviolet light.
It serves as the immediate precursor to cholesterol in biosynthesis and is the compound that makes sun exposure essential for vitamin D production in humans.
Medium-wave ultraviolet light
- photolysisMolecular breakdown via light
- skinBody's outer layer
- sunlightRadiance from our star
- biosynthesisLiving production of molecules
sun exposure · epidermis · solar radiation · ultraviolet · bone health · rickets · supplementation · fortification
Something that comes first
- lipidWater-insoluble organic compound
- cell membraneOuter layer of cytoplasm
- steroidFour-ringed organic compound
- squaleneTriterpene from liver oil
biochemistry · substrate · metabolite · endogenous · molecular structure · ring system · organic chemistry · prohormone
UVB
Medium-wave ultraviolet light
- photolysisMolecular breakdown via light
- skinBody's outer layer
- sunlightRadiance from our star
biosynthesis · sun exposure · epidermis · solar radiation · ultraviolet · bone health · rickets · supplementation · fortification · deficiency
precursor
Something that comes first
- lipidWater-insoluble organic compound
- cell membraneOuter layer of cytoplasm
- steroidFour-ringed organic compound
squalene · biochemistry · substrate · metabolite · endogenous · molecular structure · ring system · organic chemistry · prohormone
- vitaminsvitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin C
- Provitaminsprovitamin A, beta-carotene
- sterols
- ProhormonesDHEA, progesterone, proinsulin, proopiomelanocortin
- Vitamin Dvitamin D, vitamin D2, vitamin D3, calciferol, 1