Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids, as the name suggests, is a class of steroidal hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates. They have 2 further subcategories namely mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids. They are mainly involved in the immune response, stress response, protein and carbohydrate metabolism etc.

Glucocorticoids are mainly involved in the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. A common example is cortisol.

Mineralocorticoids are mainly involved in the regulation of electrolytes and the water balance. The main example for this is aldosterone.