Sugar acid

In organic chemistry, a sugar acid or acidic sugar is a monosaccharide with a carboxyl group at one end or both ends of its chain.

Main classes of sugar acids include:

• Aldonic acids, in which the aldehyde group (−CH=O) located at the initial end (position 1) of an aldose is oxidized.
• Ulosonic acids, in which the hydroxymethyl group (−CH₂OH) at the initial end of a 2-ketose is oxidized creating an α-ketoacid.
• Uronic acids, in which the −CH₂OH group at the terminal end of an aldose or ketose is oxidized.
• Aldaric acids, in which both ends (−CH=O and −CH₂OH) of an aldose are oxidized.