Porphine

The nonpolar tetrapyrrolic ring structure of porphine means it is poorly soluble in most organic solvents and hardly water soluble. As a result, porphine is mostly of theoretical interest. It has been detected in GC-MS of certain fractions of Piper betle.

Porphine derivatives: porphyrins

Substituted derivatives of porphine are called porphyrins. Many porphyrins are found in nature with the dominant example being protoporphyrin IX. Many synthetic porphyrins are also known, including octaethylporphyrin and tetraphenylporphyrin.