Guluronic acid is a

uronic acid 300px, The glucose.html" ;"title="Fischer projections of D-glucose">Fischer projections of D-glucose (left) and D-glucuronic acid (right). Glucose's terminal carbon's primary alcohol group has been oxidized to a carboxylic acid. Uronic acids ...

monosaccharide Monosaccharides (from Greek '' monos'': single, '' sacchar'': sugar), also called simple sugars, are the simplest forms of sugar and the most basic units (monomers) from which all carbohydrates are built. Chemically, monosaccharides are polyhy ...

that may be derived from

gulose Gulose is an aldohexose sugar. It is a monosaccharide that is very rare in nature, but has been found in archaea, bacteria and eukaryotes. It also exists as a syrup with a sweet taste. It is soluble in water and slightly soluble in methanol. Neit ...

. -Guluronic acid is a C-3 epimer of -

galacturonic acid -Galacturonic acid is a sugar acid, an oxidized form of -galactose. It is the main component of pectin, in which it exists as the polymer polygalacturonic acid. In its open form, it has an aldehyde group at C1 and a carboxylic acid group at ...

and a C-5 epimer of -

mannuronic acid Mannuronic acid is a uronic acid monosaccharide that can be derived from mannose. Along with -guluronic acid, -mannuronic acid is a component of alginic acid, a polysaccharide found predominantly in brown algae Brown algae (: alga) are a lar ...

. Along with -mannuronic acid, -guluronic acid is a component of

alginic acid Alginic acid, also called algin, is a naturally occurring, edible polysaccharide found in brown algae. It is hydrophilic and forms a viscous gum when hydrated. When the alginic acid binds with sodium and calcium ions, the resulting salts are kn ...

, a polysaccharide found in

brown algae Brown algae (: alga) are a large group of multicellular algae comprising the class (biology), class Phaeophyceae. They include many seaweeds located in colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate ...

. α-L-Guluronic acid has been found to bind divalent metal ions (such as calcium and strontium) through the carboxylate moiety and through the ''axial''-''equatorial''-''axial'' arrangement of hydroxyl groups found around the ring.

References

Uronic acids {{Carbohydrate-stub