xylose

American  

[zahy-lohs] / ˈzaɪ loʊs /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a colorless, crystalline pentose sugar, C 5 H 10 O 5 , derived from xylan, straw, corncobs, etc., by treating with heated dilute sulfuric acid, and dehydrating to furfural if stronger acid is used.

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xylose British  

/ ˈzaɪləʊz, -ləʊs /

noun

1. a white crystalline dextrorotatory sugar found in the form of xylan in wood and straw. It is extracted by hydrolysis with acids and used in dyeing, tanning, and in foods for diabetics. Formula: C 5 H 10 O 5

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xylose Scientific  

/ zī′lōs′ /

1. A white crystalline sugar extracted from wood, straw, and corn. It is used in dyeing and tanning and as a substitute for sucrose in diabetic diets. Chemical formula: C ₅ H ₁₀ O ₅ .

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Etymology

Origin of xylose

1890–95; < Greek xýl ( on ) wood + -ose ²

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Explanation

Xylose is a type of sugar that's found in certain plants and is used to make artificial sweeteners. Xylose is notable because it tastes sweet but doesn't raise blood sugar levels. Xylose is the main ingredient in sugar substitutes like Xylitol. It's a sugar, strictly speaking (you can tell that from the -ose suffix, used in chemical names of sugars such as glucose and fructose). But unlike table sugar, or even the sugars in fruit, xylose doesn't cause a sharp spike in blood sugar when you consume it. In large quantities, however, xylose-sweetened foods can cause digestive upset. So take it easy on that sugar-free gum!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

xylose

Glucose and xylose are the two most abundant sugars obtained from the breakdown of plant biomass such as agricultural wastes.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2024

In the wild, the yeast strain of interest, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, prefers glucose and lacks the ability to metabolize xylose.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2024

The researchers steadily decreased the amount of xylose available to the microbes as well.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 27, 2019

Work remains to be done to fill in the gaps in explaining how xylose isomerase affects the level of trehalose in the fruit fly and the activity of octopamine-producing neurons in the brain.

From Nature ● Oct. 23, 2018

When finally hydrolyzed, they yield arabinose and xylose, respectively.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

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