Table 1. Some important applications of rare monosaccharides

Rare Monosaccharides

Application (s)

Reference (s)

Hexoses

D-tagatose

Low caloric carbohydrate sweeteners and bulking agents

Muniruzzaman et al. 1996; Livesey and Brown, 1996

D-sorbose

Building blocks for the synthesis of interesting natural and biological active products

Huwig et al. 1996; Huwig et al. 1998

Insect control agent and as a starting materials for producing industrially significant compounds, such as L-threo-2, 5-hexodiulose

Huwig et al. 1998

D-gulose

Drug-formulation agents and food additives

James et al. 1993

L-fructose

Inhibitors of various glycosidase

Mixture of L- and D-fructose kill ants and house flies

Levin et al. 1995

Gilbert and Zehner, 1990

L-tagatose

Starting materials for the synthesis of 1-deoxygalactonojirimycin

Huwig et al. 1998

L-glucose

Cytostatic and cytotoxic properties with regards to neoplastic cells that can be used for cancer therapy

Bicher, 1997

L-talose

Its nucleoside derivatives, L-talofuranosyladenine, can be used as slow-reacting substrate for calf intestinal adenosine deaminase and an inhibitor for the growth of leukemia L1210 cells in vitro

Lerner and Mennitt, 1994

D-/L- talitol

Potential glycosidase inhibitor

Buchanan et al. 1990

D-allose

Use for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia

Arnold and Silady, 1997

Reduce thrombus formation during post-operative period in combination with other anti-clotting drugs

Austin and Humoller, 1934a

Pentoses

D-lyxose

Starting materials for the production of antitumoral and immunosti mulatory galactosylcer-amide agents, against several murine tumors; useful for cancer therapy

Morita et al. 1996; Takagi et al. 1996

L-ribose

Starting materials for the production of two rare aldohexoses, L-allose and L-altrose

Austin and Humoller, 1934b

Use as a potent anti-Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and anti-Epstein Barr virus (EBV) agents

Tianwei et al. 1996

L-xylulose

Potential inhibitors of various glycosidase

Levin et al. 1995

D-arabinose

Starting material for the synthesis of antitumor agents

Yoshikawa et al. 1993

 

Starting material for the synthesis of dehydroamino acid derivatives, act as azinomycin antitumor antibiotics Moran et al. 1993
Production of D-erythroascorbic acid and oxalic acid Loewus et al. 1995
Synthesis of maytansinoid model compounds with significant anti-cancer activity Goodwin et al. 1998

L-xylose

Starting material for the synthesis of 9-(2-deoxy-2-fluro-b-L-ara binofuranosyl) purine nucleosides with anti-hepatitis B virus activity

Ma et al. 1997

Starting materials for the synthesis of L-ribofuranose derivatives Chelain et al. 1995

 

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