Originally, compounds such as
aldoses and
ketoses having the
stoichiometric formula
Cn(H2O)n,
hence '
hydrates of carbon'. The generic term carbohydrate includes
monosaccharides,
oligosaccharides and
polysaccharides as well as substances derived from
monosaccharides by reduction of the carbonyl group
(
alditols),
by
oxidation of one or more terminal groups to
carboxylic acids, or by replacement of one or more hydroxy group(s) by a hydrogen atom, an amino group, thiol group or similar groups. It also includes derivatives of these compounds.
Source:
PAC, 1995, 67, 1307
(Glossary of class names of organic compounds and reactivity intermediates based on structure (IUPAC Recommendations 1995))
on page 1325
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A.Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997). XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
doi:10.1351/goldbook.
