Prednisone

Overview

Prednisone is a prodrug that is converted by the liver into prednisolone (a beta-hydroxy group instead of the oxo group at position 11), which is the active drug and also a steroid. It has a role as an anti-inflammatory drug, an antineoplastic agent, an immunosuppressive agent, an adrenergic agent and a prodrug. It is a primary alpha-hydroxy ketone, a tertiary alpha-hydroxy ketone, a glucocorticoid, a 17alpha-hydroxy steroid, a 21-hydroxy steroid, a 20-oxo steroid, an 11-oxo steroid, a C21-steroid and a 3-oxo-Delta(1),Delta(4)-steroid.

Source: ChEBI (CC BY 4.0), via PubChem.

PubChem record

CID 5865 · Prednisone

Molecular formula · weight

C21H26O5 · 358.4 g/mol

PubMed papers naming it (title/abstract)

36,452 search: “Prednisone”

Registered clinical studies (ClinicalTrials.gov)

2,512 intervention: “Prednisone”

Reference facts checked 2026-11-09. Counts are search results, not a judgement of the evidence.