Most of the classical growth factors described in and before the early years of this century
have since received" formal" recognition as vitamins and subsequently have been shown to
fulfil some vital role as cofactors or prosthetic groups for enzymes. Myoinositol is one of the
few that have not yet had their essential nature explained in any satisfactory way. The
largest step forward has been the recognition that much of the inositol in eukaryote cells
exists in combined form in the phospholipids of membranes (see refs 1-3 for reviews). This …