galactose

[ guh-lak-tohs ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble hexose sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , obtained in its dextrorotatory form from milk sugar by hydrolysis and in its levorotatory form from mucilages.

galactose

/ -əʊs; ɡəˈlæktəʊz /

noun

1. a white water-soluble monosaccharide found in lactose. Formula: C 6 H 12 O 6

galactose

/ gə-lăk′tōs′ /

1. A monosaccharide commonly occurring in lactose and in certain pectins, gums, and mucilages. Chemical formula: C 6 H 12 O 6 .

Word History and Origins

Origin of galactose¹

First recorded in 1865–70; galact- + -ose ²

Example Sentences

Lactose, or milk sugar, is a disaccharide made of two simple sugars – glucose and galactose – in a 1:1 ratio.

From Salon

Following her illness, Mills was diagnosed with galactosaemia, a rare genetic disorder affecting up to one in 45,000 babies which prevents her body from turning galactose into glucose.

From BBC

All mammals, including humans, make milk with carbohydrates in the same unique form: lactose, a sugar that is a fusion of two other sugars called galactose and glucose.

From Salon

Yet Keasling claims his team is the first to develop a process that relies only on sugar—his yeast can make cannabinoids from galactose alone without requiring additional, more expensive ingredients.

From Scientific American

In total, they needed to make 16 genetic modifications to transform galactose into inactive forms of THC or CBD.

From Nature

Related Words

• cellulose
• glucose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar