Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The origin of geranyl geranyl

Just thought I'd share this. Geranyl geranyl is a post-translation moiety that is added to proteins like Rho and Ras to make them stick to membranes. It is a byproduct of the cholesterol-mevalonate pathway. Have you ever wondered what geranyl stood for and if it had anything to do with the geranium plant? Well it turns out geranyl related compounds are terpenoids found in the essential oil of the geranium and also from other plants such as roses. Geranyl diphosphate, pyrophosphate, acetate and geraniol (with an alcohol group) are all fragrant compounds. They are used in flavoring, perfumes, as insect repellent, insecticides, and apparently in cosmetics. The cigarette manufacturers are all too happy to add them to their cancer sticks, so next time someone complains about the smoke smell, you can tell them it smells like a rosebush.


3 comments:

Bayman said...

Random commercialization idea: Why don't cigarette manufacturers put cancer preventing compounds in the products are market them as such...ie "Keep smoking without the lung cancer..."

Anonymous said...

The new Cadbury Ipecac: Anorexic by choice (TM).

Insulin-cola: When diet just doesn't cut it (TM).

Malboro cisplatins king size: Cancer doesn't stop a real cowboy (TM)

Statin doritoes: Eat all you want fat ass (TM)

pepsi fluoride: Something to smile about (TM)

Latte frapucino Codeine Grande: Sleep tight (TM)

...

Anonymous said...

From a non-sciencie who's interested - Is geranyl or geraniol harmful then?