Monosaccharide

Monosaccharides are carbohydrates in the form of simple sugars.

Related Topics:
Carbohydrate - Sugar

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Monosaccharides, crystalline, water soluble and sweet tasting. In solution they rotate plane polarised light.

Related Topics:
Crystalline - Water - Soluble

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Monosaccharides are classified by the number of carbon atoms they contain (triose, tetrose, pentose, hexose and heptose) and by the active group, which is either an aldehyde or a ketone. These are then combined, e.g. aldohexoses, ketotrioses.

Related Topics:
Carbon - Triose - Tetrose - Pentose - Hexose - Heptose - Aldehyde - Ketone

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Further, each carbon atom that supports a hydroxyl group (except for the first and last) is chiral, giving rise to a number of isomeric forms all with the same chemical formula. For instance, galactose and glucose are both aldohexoses, but they have differing properties.

Related Topics:
Hydroxyl - Chiral - Isomeric - Galactose

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The monosaccharides are classified according to the D or L form of their isomerism.

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This is a list of some of the monosaccharides, not all are found in nature - some have been synthesised.

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• trioses: glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone
• tetroses: erythrose threose
• pentoses:
• as aldo-pentoses:arabinose, lyxose, ribose(and the derived deoxyribose), xylose
• as keto-pentoses:ribulose, xylulose
• hexoses:
• as aldo-ketoses:

[[ allose, altose, galactose, glucose, gulose, idose, mannose, tagatose

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• as keto-hexoses: fructose
• keto-heptoses: mannoheptulose, sedoheptulose
 
Monosaccharide: Physical properties ►