Dietary sources of cytidine include foods with high RNA (ribonucleic acid) content,[3] such as organ meats, brewer's yeast, as well as pyrimidine-rich foods such as beer. During digestion, RNA-rich foods are broken-down into ribosyl pyrimidines (cytidine and
uridine), which are absorbed intact.[3] In humans, dietary cytidine is converted into uridine,[4] which is probably the compound behind cytidine's metabolic effects.
Cytidine analogues
A variety of cytidine
analogues are known, some with potentially useful pharmacology. For example,
KP-1461 is an
anti-HIV agent that works as a viral mutagen,[5] and
zebularine exists in E. coli and is being examined for chemotherapy. Low doses of
azacitidine and its analog
decitabine have shown results against cancer through
epigenetic demethylation.[6]
Biological actions
In addition to its role as a
pyrimidine component of RNA, cytidine has been found to control
neuronal-
glialglutamate cycling, with supplementation decreasing midfrontal/cerebral glutamate/
glutamine levels.[7] As such, cytidine has generated interest as a potential
glutamatergicantidepressant drug.[7]
^
abRobert A. Lewis, Michael D. Larrañaga, Richard J. Lewis Sr. (2016). Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary (16th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 688.
ISBN978-1-118-13515-0.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)