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How is chlorophyll partly made from an isoprenoid component?
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Isoprenoid
Camphor, an isoprenoid compound classified as a terpenoid ketone, is used in incense and certain medicinal compounds. It is a natural substance obtained from the camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), a species of evergreen.
Chlorophyll is considered partly isoprenoid because it incorporates a long, carbon-hydrogen side chain known as a phytol chain.31
This phytol component is an oxygenated acyclic diterpene, which is a type of isoprenoid compound. In the structure of a chlorophyll molecule, this chain is attached to a central porphyrin ring that surrounds a magnesium atom. The arrangement of isoprene units within the phytol chain follows a head-to-tail pattern, which is characteristic of most terpenes.231