This high purity and well-defined dihydroceramide is ideal as a standard and for biological studies.1 Dihydroceramide is a critical intermediate in the synthesis of many complex sphingoid bases. 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. Dihydroceramide, synthesized by the acylation of sphinganine, is subsequently converted into ceramide via a desaturase enzyme or into phytosphingosine via the C4-hydrozylase enzyme2. N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl) retinamide has been tested as an anti-cancer agent. It inhibits the dihydroceramide desaturase enzyme in cells resulting in a high concentration of dihydroceramide and dihydro-sphingolipids and this is thought to be the cause of the anti-cancer effects.3 Dihydrosphingosine induces cell death in a number of types of malignant cells.
