trehalose

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trehalose

chemical compound

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July 14, 2026

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Trehalose is a crystalline disaccharide with the chemical formula C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁. It is found in various organisms, including fungi, insects, and certain plants like the resurrection plant. Trehalose is about half as sweet as sucrose and is sometimes used as a sweetener in commercially prepared foods.12

Similar to sucrose, trehalose is a nonreducing sugar, meaning it does not have a free aldehyde or keto group available for reaction. It is composed of two molecules of α-d-glucose. Trehalose is of biological interest because it is found in the hemolymph of many insects and may serve as an immediate energy source, analogous to glycogen in higher animals.2

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disaccharide
Another important disaccharide, trehalose, which is found in single-celled organisms and in many insects, also consists of two molecules of glucose and an α-linkage, but the linkage is distinct from the one found in maltose.
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Another important disaccharide, trehalose, which is found in single-celled organisms and in many insects, also consists of two molecules of glucose and an α-linkage, but the linkage is distinct from the one found in maltose.
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carbohydrate
Sucrose and trehalose
The disaccharide trehalose is similar in many respects to sucrose but is much less widely distributed. It is composed of two molecules of α-d-glucose and is also a nonreducing sugar. Trehalose is present in young mushrooms and in the resurrection plant (Selaginella); it is of considerable biological…
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The disaccharide trehalose is similar in many respects to sucrose but is much less widely distributed. It is composed of two molecules of α-d-glucose and is also a nonreducing sugar. Trehalose is present in young mushrooms and in the resurrection plant (Selaginella); it is of considerable biological…
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endocrine system
Myotropic and metabolic factors
…increase in blood levels of trehalose, the “blood sugar” of insects. It is sometimes called the hypertrehalosemic hormone. This hypoglycemic hormone apparently is identical to the myotropic factors in at least one species, the American cockroach. An adipokinetic neurohormone released from the orthopteran corpora cardiaca (locusts, grasshoppers) causes the release…
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…increase in blood levels of trehalose, the “blood sugar” of insects. It is sometimes called the hypertrehalosemic hormone. This hypoglycemic hormone apparently is identical to the myotropic factors in at least one species, the American cockroach. An adipokinetic neurohormone released from the orthopteran corpora cardiaca (locusts, grasshoppers) causes the release…
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cryopreservation
A sugar called trehalose, which occurs in organisms capable of surviving extreme dehydration, is used for freeze-drying methods of cryopreservation. Trehalose stabilizes cell membranes, and it is particularly useful for the preservation of sperm, stem cells, and blood cells.
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A sugar called trehalose, which occurs in organisms capable of surviving extreme dehydration, is used for freeze-drying methods of cryopreservation. Trehalose stabilizes cell membranes, and it is particularly useful for the preservation of sperm, stem cells, and blood cells.
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