MOLECULE

Cytidine triphosphate

Cytidine triphosphate, also known as 5'-CTP or H4CTP, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as pentose phosphates. These are carbohydrate derivatives containing a pentose substituted by one or more phosphate groups. CTP, much like ATP, consists of a ribose sugar, and three phosphate groups. Cytidine triphosphate is an extremely weak basic (essentially neutral) compound (based on its pKa). CTP is a high-energy molecule similar to ATP, but its role as an energy coupler is limited to a much smaller subset of metabolic reactions. Cytidine triphosphate exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to humans. Outside of the human body, Cytidine triphosphate has been detected, but not quantified in, several different foods, such as mung beans, wild rices, jostaberries, radish, and common mushrooms. This could make cytidine triphosphate a potential biomarker for the consumption of these foods. Cytidine triphosphate is a pyrimidine nucleoside triphosphate. CTP acts as an inhibitor of the enzyme aspartate carbamoyltransferase, which is used in pyrimidine biosynthesis. CTP is a substrate in the synthesis of RNA. The major difference between the two molecules is the base used, which in CTP is cytosine. CTP is a coenzyme in metabolic reactions like the synthesis of glycerophospholipids and glycosylation of proteins. Cytidine triphosphate is expected to be in Cannabis as all living plants are known to produce and metabolize it.