A monosaccharide is the simplest form of carbohydrate and cannot be broken down into smaller sugar units. It is a single sugar molecule that serves as the basic building block for more complex carbohydrates like disaccharides and polysaccharides
. Chemically, monosaccharides are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones, meaning they have multiple hydroxyl (–OH) groups and a carbonyl group (C=O) either at the end (aldehyde, aldose) or within the carbon chain (ketone, ketose)
. Monosaccharides are usually colorless, water-soluble, and crystalline solids. They can vary in the number of carbon atoms they contain, commonly five (pentoses) or six (hexoses), such as glucose, fructose, and galactose, which are important in metabolism and nutrition
. For example, glucose is a hexose monosaccharide that plays a central role in energy production in living organisms
. In summary, monosaccharides are simple sugars that function as fundamental energy sources and structural units in biological systems
. Examples include:
- Glucose
- Fructose
- Galactose
These molecules are essential for energy metabolism and form the foundation for larger carbohydrate molecules
