Threitol is a four-carbon
sugar alcohol
Sugar alcohols (also called polyhydric alcohols, polyalcohols, alditols or glycitols) are organic compounds, typically derived from sugars, containing one hydroxyl group (–OH) attached to each carbon atom. They are white, water-soluble solids ...
with the molecular formula C
4H
10O
4. It is primarily used as an intermediate in the chemical synthesis of other compounds. It is the
diastereomer
In stereochemistry, diastereomers (sometimes called diastereoisomers) are a type of stereoisomer. Diastereomers are defined as non-mirror image, non-identical stereoisomers. Hence, they occur when two or more stereoisomers of a compound have dif ...
of
erythritol
Erythritol is an organic compound, a four-carbon sugar alcohol (or polyol) with no optical activity, used as a food additive and sugar substitute. It is naturally occurring. It can be made from corn using enzymes and fermentation. Its formula i ...
, which is used as a sugar substitute.
In living organisms, threitol is found in the
edible fungus
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi (fungi which bear fruiting structures that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye). They can appear either below ground (hypogeous) or above ground ...
''
Armillaria mellea
''Armillaria mellea'', commonly known as honey fungus, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus ''Armillaria''. It is a plant pathogen and part of a cryptic species complex of closely related and morphologically similar species. It causes Armill ...
''.
It serves as a cryoprotectant (antifreeze agent) in the Alaskan beetle ''
Upis ceramboides
''Upis ceramboides'' is a species of beetle, one of many wood-living insects that benefit from forest fires. It often occurs in quantities below the bark on the fire-damaged birches, but can sometimes be seen on other deciduous trees such as wil ...
''.
See also
*
Antifreeze protein
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) or ice structuring proteins refer to a class of polypeptides produced by certain animals, plants, fungi and bacteria that permit their survival in temperatures below the freezing point of water. AFPs bind to small i ...
*
Dithiothreitol
Dithiothreitol (DTT) is the common name for a small-molecule redox reagent also known as Cleland's reagent, after W. Wallace Cleland. DTT's formula is C4H10O2S2 and the chemical structure of one of its enantiomers in its reduced form is shown on ...
, a
thiol
In organic chemistry, a thiol (; ), or thiol derivative, is any organosulfur compound of the form , where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. The functional group itself is referred to as either a thiol group or a sulfhydryl gro ...
derivative of threitol
References
External links
*
Sugar alcohols
Tetroses
Tetrols
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