glucose

[ gloo-kohs ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. a sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , having several optically different forms, the common dextrorotatory form dextroglucose, or d-glucose occurring in many fruits, animal tissues and fluids, etc., and having a sweetness about one half that of ordinary sugar, and the rare levorotatory form levoglucose, or l-glucose not naturally occurring.
2. Also called starch syr·up [stahrch, , sur, -, uh, p, sir, -, uh, p]. a syrup containing dextrose, maltose, and dextrine, obtained by the incomplete hydrolysis of starch.

glucose

/ -kəʊs; ˈɡluːkəʊz; ɡluːˈkɒsɪk /

noun

1. a white crystalline monosaccharide sugar that has several optically active forms, the most abundant being dextrose: a major energy source in metabolism. Formula: C 6 H 12 O 6
2. a yellowish syrup (or, after desiccation, a solid) containing dextrose, maltose, and dextrin, obtained by incomplete hydrolysis of starch: used in confectionery, fermentation, etc

glucose

/ glo̅o̅′kōs′ /

1. A monosaccharide sugar found in plant and animal tissues. Glucose is a product of photosynthesis, mostly incorporated into the disaccharide sugar sucrose rather than circulating free in the plant. Glucose is essential for energy production in animal cells. It is transported by blood and lymph to all the cells of the body, where it is metabolized to form carbon dioxide and water along with ATP, the main source of chemical energy for cellular processes. Glucose molecules can also be linked into chains to form the polysaccharides cellulose, glycogen, and starch. Chemical formula: C 6 H 12 O 6 .
2. See more at cellular respiration

glucose

1. The most common form of sugar , found extensively in the bodies of living things; a molecule composed of carbon , oxygen , and hydrogen .

Notes

Glucose is involved in the production of energy in both plants and animals.

Derived Forms

• glucosic, adjective

Other Words From

• glu·cos·ic [gloo-, koh, -sik], adjective
• non·glu·cose noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of glucose¹

Coined in 1838 by French chemist Jean-Baptiste André Dumas; from French, from Greek gleûkos “sweet new wine” (akin to glykýs “sweet”; glyco- )

Word History and Origins

Origin of glucose¹

C19: from French, from Greek gleukos sweet wine; related to Greek glukus sweet

Related Words

• cellulose
• lactose
• starch
• sugar