β-Cortol is an endogenous metabolite of cortisol .1,2 It is formed from cortisol via the intermediate metabolite 5β-tetrahydrocortisol, which is dehydrogenated by 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (20β-HSD) in the liver to produce β-cortol.2 Urinary levels of β-cortol have been used as a marker for cortisol production and are associated with metabolic syndrome in obese individuals.3
1.Krone, N., Hughes, B.A., Lavery, G.G., et al.Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) remains a pre-eminent discovery tool in clinical steroid investigations even in the era of fast liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol.121(3-5)496-504(2010) 2.Schiffer, L., Barnard, L., Baranowski, E.S., et al.Human steroid biosynthesis, metabolism and excretion are differentially reflected by serum and urine steroid metabolomes: A comprehensive reviewJ. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol.194105439(2019) 3.Baudrand, R., Campino, C., Carvajal, C.A., et al.Increased urinary glucocorticoid metabolites are associated with metabolic syndrome, hypoadiponectinemia, insulin resistance and β cell dysfunctionSteroids76(14)1575-1581(2011)