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hemiacetal

Product of addition of 1 mole of alcohol to 1 mole of aldehyde, with the formation a hydroxyl group. In the case of a carbohydrate, the alcohol group is provided by a hydroxyl group on the carbohydrate itself to form a 5 or six-membered ring in an energetically favored reaction. Thus hemiacetals are prefered forms of aldohexoses & aldopentoses. | -C-OH | OR

General

covalent bond

References

  1. Stedman's Medical Dictionary 27th ed, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1999.