Erythrose
D-Erythrose | |
L-Erythrose | |
| Names | |
|---|---|
| IUPAC names
D-Erythrose D-erythro-Tetrose (systematic name)[2] | |
| Systematic IUPAC name
(2R,3R)-2,3,4-Trihydroxybutanal (D) (2S,3S)-2,3,4-Trihydroxybutanal (L) | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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| 5805561 | |
| ChEBI | |
| ChemSpider |
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| ECHA InfoCard | 100.008.643 |
| EC Number |
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| KEGG | |
PubChem CID |
|
| UNII |
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| |
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| Properties | |
| C4H8O4 | |
| Molar mass | 120.104 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | Light yellow syrup |
| highly soluble[vague] | |
| Hazards | |
| NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Erythrose is a tetrose saccharide with the chemical formula C4H8O4. It has one aldehyde group, and is thus part of the aldose family. The natural isomer is D-erythrose; it is a diastereomer of D-threose.[3]

Erythrose was named after the sugar alcohol erythritol (Erythrit), from which it was first synthesized in 1887 by Emil Fischer and Julius Tafel. [4][5]
Erythrose 4-phosphate is an intermediate in the pentose phosphate pathway[6] and the Calvin cycle.[7]
Oxidative bacteria can be made to use erythrose as its sole energy source.[8]
Although often inconsequential, erythrose in aqueous solution mainly exists as the hydrate owing to the following equilibrium:[9]
- HOCH2CH(OH)CH(OH)CHO + H2O ⇌ HOCH2CH(OH)CH(OH)CH(OH)2
Unrelated compound
[edit]An unrelated compound, initially also named "erythrose", was isolated in 1849 from nitrated rhubarb by the French pharmacist Louis-Félix-Joseph Garot (1798–1869),[10] and was named as such because of its red hue in the presence of alkali metals (ἐρυθρός, "red").[11][12]. This unrelated substance from rhubarb is identical to the nitrated anthraquinone chrysaminic acid (Chrysaminsäure, 517-92-0 ).[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Merck Index, 11th Edition, 3637
- ↑ "2-Carb-8 and 2-Carb-9".
- ↑ "4.5: Diastereomers". Chemistry LibreTexts. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
- ↑ Fischer, Emil; Tafel, Julius (March 31, 1887). "Oxydation der mehrwerthigen Alkohole". Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. 20. Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft: 1088–1094. doi:10.1002/cber.188702001243. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ Fischer, Emil (July 1890). "Synthesen in der Zuckergruppe". Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. 2408. Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft: 1765–3851. doi:10.1002/cber.18900230268. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ Kruger, Nicholas J; von Schaewen, Antje (June 2003). "The oxidative pentose phosphate pathway: structure and organisation". Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 6 (3): 236–246. Bibcode:2003COPB....6..236K. doi:10.1016/S1369-5266(03)00039-6. PMID 12753973.
- ↑ Schwender, Jörg; Goffman, Fernando; Ohlrogge, John B.; Shachar-Hill, Yair (9 December 2004). "Rubisco without the Calvin cycle improves the carbon efficiency of developing green seeds". Nature. 432 (7018): 779–782. Bibcode:2004Natur.432..779S. doi:10.1038/nature03145. PMID 15592419. S2CID 4401215.
- ↑ Hiatt, Howard H; Horecker, B L (13 October 1955). "D-erythrose metabolism in a strain of Alcaligenes faecalis". Journal of Bacteriology. 71 (6): 649–654. doi:10.1128/jb.71.6.649-654.1956. PMC 314578. PMID 13345750. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ↑ Angyal, SJ; Wheen, RG (1980). "The Composition of Reducing Sugars in Aqueous Solution : Glyceraldehyde, Erythrose, Threose". Australian Journal of Chemistry. 33 (5): 1001. doi:10.1071/CH9801001.
- ↑ Obituary of Garot (1869) Journal de pharmacie et de chimie, 4th series, 9 : 472-473.
- ↑ Garot (1850) "De la matière colorante rouge des rhubarbes exotiques et indigènes et de son application (comme matière colorante) aux arts et à la pharmacie" (On the red coloring material of exotic and indigenous rhubarb and on its application (as a coloring material) in the arts and in pharmacy), Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, 3rd series, 17 : 5-19. Erythrose is named on p. 10: "Celui que je propose, sans y attacher toutefois la moindre importance, est celui d'érythrose, du verbe grec 'ερυθραινω, rougir (1)." (The one [i.e., name] that I propose, without attaching any importance to it, is that of erythrose, from the Greek verb ερυθραινω, to redden (1).)
- ↑ Wells, David Ames; Cross, Charles Robert; Bliss, George; Trowbridge, John; Nichols, William Ripley; Kneeland, Samuel (1851). Annual of Scientific Discovery. Boston: Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln. p. 211. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
erythrose discovery.
- ↑ Tschirch, A.; Heuberger, K. (October 12, 1902). "Untersuchungen über den chinesischen Rhabarber". Archiv der Pharmazie. 2408. Deutsche Pharmazeutische Gesellschaft: 561–640. doi:10.1002/ardp.19022400805. Retrieved July 17, 2026.



