Dictionary
glu•cose
Pronunciation: (glOO'kōs), [key]—
n. Biochem.
1. a sugar, C
6H
12O
6, having several optically different forms, the common dextrorotatory form
(dextroglucose, or
d -glucose) occurring in many fruits, animal tissues and fluids, etc., and having a sweetness about one half that of ordinary sugar, and the rare levorotatory form
(levoglucose, or l -glucose) not naturally occurring.
2. Also called
starch syrup. a syrup containing dextrose, maltose, and dextrine, obtained by the incomplete hydrolysis of starch.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.