arabinose

American  

[uh-rab-uh-nohs, ar-uh-buh-] / əˈræb əˌnoʊs, ˈær ə bə- /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble solid, C 5 H 10 O 5 , obtained from plant gums or made synthetically from glucose, used chiefly as a culture medium in bacteriology.

---

arabinose British  

/ əˈræbɪˌnəʊz, -ˌnəʊs /

noun

1. a pentose sugar in plant gums, esp of cedars and pines. It is used as a culture medium in bacteriology. Formula: C 5 H 10 O 5

---

Other Word Forms

• arabinosic adjective

Etymology

Origin of arabinose

1880–85; arabin the soluble essence of certain gums ( (gum) arab(ic) ) + -in ² ) + -ose ²

Example Sentences

Another enzyme produced by the bacteria, known as arabinose isomerase, then converts the galactose into tagatose.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

Both approaches pointed to a gene for an enzyme that makes arabinose, a sugar found primarily in the plant cell wall, Willis reported.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 29, 2019

The wound gums, for example, yield arabinose, and the wood gums yield xylose.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred

Three of the sugars—glucose, arabinose, and rhamnose—protected the sperm during equilibration and freezing.

From Preservation of Bull Semen at Sub-Zero Temperatures by Friedman, M. E.

It is, therefore, similar to amygdalin, except that one glucose molecule is replaced by arabinose.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred