Retine revisited

Abstract

Retine, so named by Albert Szent-Györgyi, an inhibitor of the growth of transplanted malignant tumours in animals, is present in all mammalian tissues and in urine. Its inhibitory activity was extensively investigated by Szent-Györgyi, but its exact chemical identity was not determined. Details of the reported physical and chemical properties of retine and its ubiquitous occurrence identify it as being identical to a complex mixture of lipid 2,4-diketones of similar ubiquitous occurrence. This lipid mixture has been extensively studied, and individual members have been synthesized.