lyxose
chemistry
Quick Summary
Lyxose is a monosaccharide, a simple sugar with five carbon atoms. It is classified as an aldopentose, meaning it has an aldehyde functional group and five carbons in its chain. Lyxose is an isomer of other five-carbon sugars like xylose and arabinose, differing in the spatial arrangement of its hydroxyl groups. The prefix "lyxo-" is used in chemistry to denote this specific stereochemical arrangement. While common sugars like glucose and fructose are hexoses (six-carbon sugars), lyxose belongs to the smaller pentose group.1234
Summary created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
4 Britannica Sources
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
