phenyloside

Phenyloside is a term used in chemistry and biochemistry to describe aryl glycosides in which a phenyl group serves as the aglycone. The typical structure features a sugar moiety linked through an O-glycosidic bond to a phenyl group, usually at the anomeric carbon of the sugar. Examples include phenyl β-D-glucopyranoside and phenyl α-D-galactopyranoside. The concept encompasses a family of compounds where the sugar component may vary (glucose, galactose, rhamnose, etc.) and the configuration at the anomeric center may be alpha or beta.

Preparation generally involves glycosylation of phenol derivatives using protected sugar donors followed by deprotection. In laboratory assays, phenylosides are used as substrates for glycosidases; hydrolysis yields phenol and the corresponding monosaccharide, allowing spectrophotometric detection of enzymatic activity. They are also used as model compounds to study glycosidic bond stability and enzyme specificity.

In addition to enzymology, phenylosides appear in organic synthesis as building blocks or intermediates for the preparation of more complex glycosides. They may be encountered as synthetic reagents or in medicinal chemistry contexts as reference compounds to examine sugar-phenyl interactions.

See also: phenyl glycoside, aryl glycoside, glycosidic bond.