Arabinose
Arabinose is an aldopentose – a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms, and including an aldehyde (CHO) functional group.
PropertiesEdit
For biosynthetic reasons, most saccharides are almost always more abundant in nature as the "D"-form, or structurally analogous to D-glyceraldehyde.<ref group="note">The D/L nomenclature does not refer to the molecule's optical rotation properties but to its structural analogy to glyceraldehyde.</ref> However, L-arabinose is in fact more common than D-arabinose in nature and is found in nature as a component of biopolymers such as hemicellulose and pectin.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The L-arabinose operon, also known as the araBAD operon, has been the subject of much biomolecular research. The operon directs the catabolism of arabinose in E. coli, and it is dynamically activated in the presence of arabinose and the absence of glucose.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
A classic method for the organic synthesis of arabinose from glucose is the Wohl degradation.<ref>Template:OrgSynth</ref>
D-Arabinose File:Alpha-D-Arabinofuranose.svg
α-D-ArabinofuranoseFile:Beta-D-Arabinofuranose.svg
β-D-ArabinofuranoseFile:Alpha-D-Arabinopyranose.svg
α-D-ArabinopyranoseFile:Beta-D-Arabinopyranose.svg
β-D-Arabinopyranose
EtymologyEdit
Arabinose gets its name from gum arabic, from which it was first isolated.<ref>Merriam Webster Dictionary</ref>
Use in foodsEdit
Originally commercialized as a sweetener, arabinose is an inhibitor of sucrase, the enzyme that breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose in the small intestine.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>