A Sugar acid or acidic sugar is a

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. They are usually colorless, water-sol ...

with a carboxyl group at one end or both ends of its chain. Main classes of sugar acids include: * Aldonic acids, in which the aldehyde group (−CHO) located at the initial end ( position 1) of an aldose is oxidized. * Ulosonic acids, in which the −CH₂(OH) group at the initial end of a 2-

ketose A ketose is a monosaccharide containing one ketone group per molecule. The simplest ketose is dihydroxyacetone, which has only three carbon atoms. It is the only ketose with no optical activity. All monosaccharide ketoses are reducing sugars, be ...

is oxidized creating an α- ketoacid. * Uronic acids, in which the −CH₂(OH) group at the terminal end of an aldose or ketose is oxidized. * Aldaric acids, in which both ends (−CHO and −CH₂(OH)) of an aldose are oxidized.

Examples

Examples of sugar acids include: * Aldonic acids ** Glyceric acid (3C) ** Xylonic acid (5C) ** Gluconic acid (6C) **

Ascorbic acid Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) a ...

(6C, unsaturated lactone) * Ulosonic acids ** Neuraminic acid (5-amino-3,5-dideoxy-D- ''glycero''-D- ''galacto''-non-2-ulosonic acid) ** Ketodeoxyoctulosonic acid (KDO or 3-deoxy-D- ''manno''-oct-2-ulosonic acid) * Uronic acids **

Glucuronic acid Glucuronic acid (from Greek γλεῦκος "''wine, must''" and οὖρον "''urine''") is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine (hence the name). It is found in many gums such as gum arabic (c. 18%), xanthan, and kombucha tea ...

(6C) ** Galacturonic acid (6C) **

Iduronic acid -Iduronic acid (IUPAC abbr.: IdoA) is the major uronic acid component of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) dermatan sulfate, and heparin. It is also present in heparan sulfate, although here in a minor amount relative to its carbon-5 epimer glucuroni ...

(6C) * Aldaric acids **

Tartaric acid Tartaric acid is a white, crystalline organic acid that occurs naturally in many fruits, most notably in grapes, but also in bananas, tamarinds, and citrus. Its salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a c ...

(4C) ** ''meso''-Galactaric acid ( Mucic acid) (6C) ** D-Glucaric acid (

Saccharic acid Saccharic acid, also called glucaric acid, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H10O8. It is derived by oxidizing a sugar such as glucose with nitric acid.