Alduronic

Alduronic is a term used in carbohydrate chemistry to describe a class of sugar acids derived from aldoses by oxidation of the aldehyde group to a carboxyl group. These compounds, known collectively as aldo-uronic acids, are a subset of uronic acids, which are sugar acids in which the terminal carbon is oxidized.

In practice, oxidation of the aldehyde carbon (C-1) of an aldose yields an alduronic acid while preserving the rest of the carbon skeleton. The resulting acids can cyclize to form pyranose or furanose rings. Common examples include D-glucuronic acid, D-guluronic acid, D-iduronic acid, and D-galacturonic acid. The prefix in each name reflects the parent aldose from which the uronic acid is derived.

Alduronic acids occur widely in nature and have important biological and structural roles. In plants, galacturonic acid is a major component of pectin and other cell wall polysaccharides. In animals, glucuronic acid is central to detoxification: xenobiotics and endogenous compounds are conjugated with glucuronic acid in a process called glucuronidation, increasing solubility for excretion. Activated forms such as UDP-glucuronic acid serve as donors in these conjugation reactions. Alduronic residues also appear in glycosaminoglycans, including hyaluronic acid (which contains glucuronic acid) and various dermatan and heparan sulfate components, contributing to the properties of connective tissues and extracellular matrices.

See also uronic acids, glycosaminoglycans, pectin, and glucuronidation for related concepts.