monosaccharide

n. simple sugar (Chemistry)

Monosaccharides (from Greek : single, sacchar: sugar) are the simplest carbohydrates. They cannot be hydrolyzed into simpler sugars. They consist of one sugar and are usually colorless, water-soluble, crystalline solids. Some monosaccharides have a sweet taste. Examples of monosaccharides include glucose (dextrose), fructose, galactose, xylose and ribose. Monosaccharides are the building blocks of disaccharides like sucrose (common sugar) and polysaccharides (such as cellulose and starch). 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 different chemical and physical properties.
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Noun
1. a sugar (like sucrose or fructose) that does not hydrolyse to give other sugars; the simplest group of carbohydrates
(synonym) monosaccharose, simple sugar
(hypernym) carbohydrate, saccharide, sugar
(hyponym) triose

n. monosaccharide, simple sugar (Chemistry)

n. monosaccharide, simple sugar (Chemistry)