xylosidic

Xylosidic is an adjective used in biochemistry and carbohydrate chemistry to describe things relating to xylose, a five-carbon aldose, or to glycosidic linkages in which xylose is the sugar component. The term can refer to the presence of xylose in a glycoside or to the type of bond that connects xylose residues within a polysaccharide or glycoside.

In polysaccharide chemistry, xylosidic bonds are the glycosidic linkages that join xylose units or connect xylose to other components. A notable example is xylan, the major hemicellulose in plant cell walls, whose backbone consists of beta-D-xylopyranose units linked by beta-1,4-xylosidic bonds. Substitutions on the xylan backbone can introduce various side chains, but the core xylosidic linkages define the polymer’s structure.

In glycoside chemistry, the term also describes a xyloside, a compound in which xylose is the sugar moiety attached to an aglycone (or to another sugar). The bond linking xylose to the aglycone is called a xylosidic bond. Enzymes known as xylosidases (for example, beta-xylosidases) catalyze the hydrolysis of xylosidic bonds to release xylose units from xylosides or xylan-derived oligosaccharides, playing a key role in biomass degradation and carbohydrate metabolism.

The word is used primarily in academic discussions of carbohydrate structure, enzymology, and plant biochemistry, and it contrasts with other glycosidic descriptors such as glucosidic or galactosidic.