![]() D-Erythrose | |
![]() L-Erythrose | |
Names | |
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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 |
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UNII |
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
C4H8O4 | |
Molar mass | 120.104 g·mol−1 |
Appearance | Light yellow syrup |
highly soluble | |
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). |
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 first isolated in 1849 from rhubarb by the French pharmacist Louis Feux Joseph Garot (1798-1869), [4] and was named as such because of its red hue in the presence of alkali metals (ἐρυθρός, "red"). [5] [6]
Erythrose 4-phosphate is an intermediate in the pentose phosphate pathway [7] and the Calvin cycle. [8]
Oxidative bacteria can be made to use erythrose as its sole energy source. [9]
Although often inconsequential, erythrose in aqueous solution mainly exists as the hydrate owing to the following equilibrium: [10]
erythrose discovery.