Monosaccharides
MonosaccharidesMonosaccharide
also called SIMPLE SUGAR, any of the basic compounds that serve as the building blocks of carbohydrates. Monosaccharides are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones; that is, they are molecules with more than one hydroxyl group (-OH), and a carbonyl group (C=O) either at the terminal carbon atom (aldose) or at the second carbon atom (ketose). The carbonyl group combines in aqueous solution with one hydroxyl group to form a cyclic compound (hemi-acetal or hemi-ketal). Monosaccharides are classified by the number of carbon atoms in the molecule; trioses have three, tetroses four, pentoses five, hexoses six, and heptoses seven. Most contain five or six. The most important pentoses include xylose, found combined as xylan in woody materials; arabinose from coniferous trees; ribose, a component of ribonucleic acids and several vitamins; and deoxyribose, a component of deoxyribonucleic acid. Among the most important aldohexoses are glucose, mannose, and galactose; fructose is a ketohexose.
Several derivatives of monosaccharides are important. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is derived from glucose. Important sugar alcohols (alditols), formed by the reduction of (i.e., addition of hydrogen to) a monosaccharide, include sorbitol (glucitol) from glucose and mannitol from mannose; both are used as sweetening agents. Glycosides derived from monosaccharides are widespread in nature, especially in plants. Amino sugars (i.e., sugars in which one or two hydroxyl groups are replaced with an amino group, -NH2) occur as components of glycolipids and in the chitin of arthropods.
carbohydrateClasses of carbohydrates Monosaccharides Sources The most common naturally occurring monosaccharides are D-glucose, D-mannose, D-fructose, and D-galactose among the hexoses, and D-xylose and L-arabinose among the pentoses. In a special sense, D-ribose and 2-deoxy-D-ribose are ubiquitous because they form the carbohydrate component of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), respectively; these sugars are present in all cells as components of nucleic acids. Sources of some of the naturally occurring monosaccharides are listed in Table 2.D-xylose, found in most plants in the form of a polysaccharide called xylan, is prepared from corncobs, cottonseed hulls, or straw by chemical breakdown of xylan. D-galactose, a common constituent of both oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, also occurs in carbohydrate-containing lipids, called glycolipids, which are found in the brain and other nervous tissues of most animals. Galactose is generally prepared by acid hydrolysis (breakdown involving water) of lactose, which is composed of galactose and glucose. Since the biosynthesis of galactose in animals occurs through intermediate compounds derived directly from glucose, animals do not require galactose in the diet. In fact, in most human populations (Caucasoid peoples being the major exception) the majority of people do not retain the ability to manufacture the enzyme necessary to metabolize galactose after they reach the age of four, and many individuals possess a hereditary defect known as galactosemia and never have the ability to metabolize galactose.D-glucose (from the Greek word glykys, meaning "sweet"), the naturally occurring form, is found in fruits, honey, blood, and, under abnormal conditions, in urine. It is also a constituent of the two most common naturally found disaccharides, sucrose and lactose,...
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