出典:Wiktionary
出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/06/13 03:53 UTC 版)
A prohormone is a substance that is a precursor to a hormone, usually having minimal hormonal effect by itself. The term has been used in medical science since the middle of the 20th century. The primary function of a prohormone is to enhance the strength of the hormone that already occurs in the body. Prohormones add no hormones whereas steroids add hormones which commonly causes confusion between the two. Examples of natural, human prohormones include proinsulin and pro-opiomelanocortin.