Über die physiologische Bedeutung der Pterine

Abstract

This paper comprises a survey of the physiological properties of the pterins, as outlined in the literature. Pterins take part in morphological colour changes, and in this case, they can be considered as light protective pigments. In intermediary metabolism the pterins have been shown to catalyse the oxidation of phenyl-alanine to tyrosine and dopa, while they also seem to prevent the synthesis of melanin in the epidermis of animals. Pterins may play an important part in the sex determination of some insects, for example, stepwise additions of biopterin have some effect on the formation of ovipar females and males in aphids. Pterins are also thought to be involved in the determination of the sex casts of honey bees and ants. Furthermore, some 8-substituted l′.2′-dihydroxyalkyl-pterins containing the L-erythro configuration are known to act as growth factors in mirco-organisms.