Sugaroxidizing

Sugaroxidizing refers to processes and organisms that oxidize sugars, meaning they remove electrons from sugar molecules. This term can describe chemical oxidation reactions that convert sugars to higher-oxidation-state products, as well as biological oxidation carried out by cells to harvest energy through sugar catabolism.

In chemistry, oxidation of aldose sugars often yields aldonic acids such as gluconic acid when the aldehyde group is oxidized. Strong oxidants can produce saccharic or uronic acids, but those reactions are often harsh. Enzymatic sugar oxidation is common in biology and industry; enzymes such as glucose oxidase catalyze the oxidation of glucose to gluconolactone, which hydrolyzes to gluconic acid, producing hydrogen peroxide in the process. Other sugar-specific oxidases exist, and peroxidases can use hydrogen peroxide to drive additional reactions.

Biological sugar oxidation is central to metabolism. In glycolysis, sugars are oxidized stepwise to pyruvate, generating NADH and ATP. In the presence of oxygen, pyruvate is further oxidized in the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation to CO2 and water. Under anaerobic conditions, some organisms metabolize sugars by fermentation, yielding ethanol or lactic acid.

Certain microorganisms specialize in periplasmic sugar oxidation, converting sugars to organic acids without full intracellular respiration. Acetobacter and Gluconobacter species oxidize glucose and other sugars to gluconic acid and related products, a feature exploited in food processing and industrial chemistry.