The molecule is the second intermediate in the biosynthesis of vitamin B12 from uroporphyrinogen III, in which methyl groups have been introduced at positions 2 and 7 of the tetrapyrrole framework. It has a role as an Escherichia coli metabolite. It is a precorrin and a member of isobacteriochlorins. It is a conjugate acid of a precorrin-2(7-).
3-[(1Z,2S,3S,4Z,15Z,17S,18S)-8,12,17-tris(2-carboxyethyl)-3,7,13,18-tetrakis(carboxymethyl)-3,18-dimethyl-2,10,17,21,22,23-hexahydroporphyrin-2-yl]propanoic acid