Tag: Glucose isomerization

During glycolysis, a foundational metabolic pathway, glucose is converted into fructose via an intermediate step involving an isomerase enzyme. This crucial transformation prepares the molecule for the next stage of energy extraction, highlighting just one of several key reasons why is glucose converted into fructose, both inside the body and in industrial processes.

Did you know that glucose and fructose have the same chemical formula, $C_6H_{12}O_6$? The chemical reaction that converts glucose to fructose is known as isomerization, which rearranges the atoms of the glucose molecule to form its sweeter counterpart through a shift of its carbonyl group.

The conversion of glucose to fructose is a key biochemical process leveraged by industries to create sweeter products like high-fructose corn syrup. This transformation, known as isomerization, rearranges the molecular structure of glucose, an aldose sugar, into fructose, a ketose sugar, without changing the chemical formula (C6H12O6).