4-hydroxybutanal
Sign in to saveAlso known as gamma-hydroxybutyraldehyde, γ-hydroxybutyraldehyde, 4-hydroxybutyraldehyde, γ-hydroxybutanal, gamma-hydroxybutanal, γ-hydroxybutaldehyde
γ-Hydroxybutyraldehyde is the organic compound with the formula HOCH2CH2CH2CHO. It is a colorless liquid. The compound occurs in nature and is produced commercially.
Wikidata facts
- Mass
- 88.052429
Show 2 more facts
- canonical SMILES
- C(CC=O)CO
- chemical formula
- C₄H₈O₂
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Occurrence
- See also
- References
γ-Hydroxybutyraldehyde is the organic compound with the formula HOCH2CH2CH2CHO. It is a colorless liquid. The compound occurs in nature and is produced commercially.
==Occurrence== It is a chemical intermediate in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) from 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD). Like 1,4-BD, it also behaves as a prodrug to GHB when taken exogenously. However, as with all aliphatic aldehydes, γ-hydroxybutaldehyde is caustic and is strong-smelling and foul-tasting; thus, actual ingestion of this compound is likely to be unpleasant and result in severe nausea and vomiting.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “4-hydroxybutanal” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.