Tag: Nonreducing sugars

Every carbohydrate can be classified as either a reducing or a nonreducing sugar, a distinction that has significant implications for food science, medical diagnostics, and basic biology. This classification depends on a specific structural feature of the sugar molecule and its ability to act as a reducing agent in a chemical reaction.

Every monosaccharide is a reducing sugar. This fundamental chemical property, stemming from the presence of a free aldehyde or ketone group, means that all monosaccharides, from glucose to fructose, can donate electrons and reduce other compounds.