- -ose
The suffix -ose is used in
biochemistry to form the names ofsugar s. Numerous systems exist to name specific sugars more descriptively.Monosaccharide s, the simplest sugars, may be named according to the number ofcarbon atoms in each molecule of the sugar:pentose is a five-carbon monosaccharide, andhexose is a six-carbon monosaccharide.Aldehyde monosaccharides may be calledaldose s;ketone monosaccharides may be calledketose s.Larger sugars such as
disaccharide s andpolysaccharide s can be named to reflect their qualities.Lactose , a disaccharide found inmilk , gets its name from theLatin word for milk combined with the sugar suffix; its name means "milk sugar". The polysaccharide that makes up plantstarch is namedamylose , or "starch sugar"; seeamyl#Etymology .There are these theories about the origin of the "-ose" suffix:-
# Extracted fromglucose , an important hexose whose name came from Greek γλυκύς = "sweet".
# Extracted fromsucrose , whose name came from Latin "sucrum" = "sugar" plus the common Latin adjective-forming suffix "-ōsus"; Latin "sucrosus" would mean "sugary".
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