This product is the natural D-erythro isomer of dihydrosphingosine. Sphinganine (dihydrosphingosine) is the precursor of dihydroceramide which is then desaturated to form ceramide. It is a critical intermediate in the synthesis of many complex sphingoid bases and ceramide analogs. It has been found that sphinganine can induce cell death in a number of types of malignant cells and is being tested for its pharmacological properties.1 Inhibition of dihydroceramide synthesis by some fungal toxins that have a similar structure causes an increase in sphinganine and sphinganine-1-phosphate and a decrease in other sphingolipids leading to a number of diseases including oesophageal cancer.2 Sphinganine has been found to mediate fumonisin (a toxic sphinganine analog) induced hypotension.3 In yeast the amount of C20-dihydrosphingosine increases as a response to heat stress along with other sphingolipids, indicating that it is involved in heat stress adaptation.
