Aldosterone


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Aldosterone

The steroid hormone found in the biologically active amorphous fraction that remains after separation of the various crystalline steroid substances, such as cortisol and corticosterone, from adrenal extracts. In solution, aldosterone exists as an equilibrium mixture of aldo and lactol forms (see illustration).

Structures for two forms of aldosterone in an equilibrium mixture, ( a ) aldo and ( b ) lactolenlarge picture
Structures for two forms of aldosterone in an equilibrium mixture, (a) aldo and (b) lactol

The chief function of aldosterone is the regulation of electrolyte metabolism, that is, promotion of sodium retention and enhancement of potassium excretion. Aldosterone is the most potent of the hormones which are concerned in this type of metabolism. See Adrenal gland, Hormone, Steroid

McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Bioscience. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

aldosterone

[al′däs·tə‚rōn]
(biochemistry)
C21H28O5 A steroid hormone extracted from the adrenal cortex that functions chiefly in regulating sodium and potassium metabolism.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Aldosterone

 

(also electrocortin, or aldocortin), an adrenocortical hormone of the group of corticosteroids. It regulates mineral metabolism in the organism and is the basic mineralocorticoid. The molecular mass is 360.43.

Aldosterone was isolated in a crystalline form in 1953 and synthesized in 1959 by Wettstein. It helps to retain sodium ions (Na+) in the organism and to eliminate potassium ions (K+) in the urine, saliva, and perspiration. A deficiency of Na+ and an elevated K+ content in food lead to an increase in the formation of aldosterone. An insufficiency of aldosterone—for example, with adrenalectomy or with Addison’s disease—leading to an acute loss of Na, imperils the life of the organism. The increased formation of aldosterone—for example, with adrenal tumors and certain heart and kidney diseases—causes the retention of water in the organism (edema), an increase in blood pressure, and so forth. The level of aldosterone secretion is related to the relative Na+ and K+ content in the blood plasma and is regulated by the mesencephalon, which secretes the neurohormone adrenoglomerulotropine with the participation of angiotensin and renin, which is formed in the kidneys and the vegetative nervous system.

REFERENCE

Berzin, T. Biokhimiia gormonov. Moscow, 1964. Page 259. (Translated from the German.)

G. L. SHREIBERG

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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