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glucose

noun

A simple monosaccharide sugar that serves as the main source of energy for most living things.

It is a hexose since it contains six carbon atoms, one of which is part of an aldehyde group, and is therefore referred to as an aldohexose. Its chemical formula is: C₆H₁₂O₆

It is a metabolic intermediate of cellular respiration. An excess of glucose is stored as glycogen in animals. In plants, glucose is the end-product of photosynthesis; mostly it is incorporated into a disaccharide (e.g. sucrose) and polysaccharide (e.g. starch).

Also known as D-glucose, D-glucopyranose, grape sugar, corn sugar, dextrose, cerelose, starch syrup

Word origin: Greek Gleukos = sweetness, glykys = sweet