Novel chemical and biological insights of inositol derivatives in Mediterranean plants

Inositols (Ins) are natural compounds largely widespread in plants and animals. Biosinthetically they derive from sugars, possessing a molecular structure very similar to the simplesugars, and this aspect concurs to define them as primary metabolites, even though it is much morecorrect to place them at the boundary between primary and secondary metabolites. This dichotomyis well represented by the fact that as primary metabolites they are essential cellular components inthe form of phospholipid derivatives, while as secondary metabolites they are involved in a plethoraof signaling pathways playing an important role in the surviving of living organisms. myo-Inositol isthe most important and widespread compound of this family, it derives directly from D-glucose, andall known inositols, including stereoisomers and derivatives, are the results of metabolic processeson this unique molecule. In this review, we report the new insights of these compounds and theirderivatives concerning their occurrence in Nature with a particular emphasis on the plant of theMediterranean area, as well as the new developments about their biological effectiveness