galactose

Also known as galacto-hexose

Galactose (, galacto- + -ose, sometimes abbreviated Gal), is a common monosaccharide, i.e. a simple sugar. It is classified as a reducing hexose, more specifically an aldohexose. In terms of structure, it is a C-4 epimer of glucose. A white, water-soluble solid, it is about 80–90% as sweet as glucose and about 65% as sweet as sucrose.

AI overview

Galactose is a simple sugar that occurs naturally and is structurally very similar to glucose, the sugar your body uses for energy. It's less sweet than table sugar, appears as a white powder that dissolves in water, and is important because it's a building block of lactose, the main sugar found in milk.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

In the Vinony graph

Within Vinony's link graph, galactose is referenced by 794 other articles, and connects out to cheong, hexose and sugar.

It sits within the topics Chembox image size set, Furanoses and Galactose.

Its subject is documented across 62 Wikipedia language editions.

Research

50,171 papers

Galactose metabolism and health.ReviewCurrent opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care · 2015Coelho AI, Berry GT, Rubio-Gozalbo MEDOI: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000189
Enzymatic biosynthesis of D-galactose derivatives: Advances and perspectives.ReviewInternational journal of biological macromolecules · 2024Liu J, Feng X, Liang L et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131518
Galactose-1-phosphate in the pathophysiology of galactosemia.ReviewEuropean journal of pediatrics · 1995Gitzelmann RDOI: 10.1007/BF02143803
Galactose metabolism and ovarian toxicity.ReviewReproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2000Liu G, Hale GE, Hughes CLDOI: 10.1016/s0890-6238(00)00096-4
[galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-gal)].Arerugi = [Allergy] · 2018DOI: 10.15036/arerugi.67.72
The Historiography of Galactose and Its Recognition by Galectins.ReviewAdvances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Hirabayashi J, Iwaki J, Sato SDOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-04153-1_11
The galactose regulon of Escherichia coli.ReviewMolecular microbiology · 1993Weickert MJ, Adhya SDOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01950.x
Enzyme-based amperometric galactose biosensors: a review.ReviewMikrochimica acta · 2017Kanyong P, Krampa FD, Aniweh Y et al.DOI: 10.1007/s00604-017-2465-z

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Wikidata facts

Subclass of: aldohexose
Has part: carbon
Mass: 180.16

Show 4 more facts

topic's main category: Category:Galactose
chemical formula: C₆H₁₂O₆
subject has role: sweetener
Commons category: Galactose

Sources (2)

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Encyclopedic overview

13 sections

Contents

Occurrence
Relationship to lactose
Structure and isomerism
Metabolism
Sources
Clinical significance
History
Etymology
Spectroscopy
Further reading
See also
References
External links

==Occurrence== Galactan is a polymeric form of galactose found in hemicellulose, and forming the core of the galactans, a class of natural polymeric carbohydrates.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “galactose” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.