Category: Monosaccharides

Based on its chemical structure, xylose is definitively not a hexose sugar, but rather a five-carbon sugar known as a pentose. This fundamental classification has major implications for how the body and microorganisms process it, as they are metabolized through entirely different pathways.

Galactose, a simple sugar, has the molecular formula C₆H₁₂O₆, identical to that of its more famous isomer, glucose. It is a key component of lactose, the sugar found in milk, and plays a vital role in biological processes.

An octose is a rare type of monosaccharide containing eight carbon atoms. A prime example of an octose monosaccharide is methylthiolincosamide, a key component of the clinically important antibiotic lincomycin.