Galactose

Assessment | Biopsychology | Comparative | Cognitive | Developmental | Language | Individual differences | Personality | Philosophy | Social |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |

Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline)

---

style="background: #F8EABA; text-align: center;" colspan="2"	Galactose
File:Galactose Haworth.png	File:D-galactose Fischer.png
Identifiers
CAS number	26566-61-0
PubChem	6036
MeSH	Galactose
Properties
Molecular formula	C6H12O6
Molar mass	180.08
Melting point	167 degrees C
Hazards
style="background: #F8EABA; text-align: center;" colspan="2"	Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references

Galactose (Gal) (also called Brain Sugar) is a type of sugar which is less sweet than glucose and not very water-soluble. It is considered a nutritive sweetener because it has food energy.

Galactan is a polymer of the sugar galactose. It is found in hemicellulose and can be converted to galactose by hydrolysis.

Sources

It is found in dairy products, in sugar beets and other gums and mucilages.

It is also synthesized by the body, where it forms part of glycolipids and glycoproteins in several tissues.

Relationship to lactose

Galactose is a monosaccharide constituent, together with glucose, of the disaccharide lactose. The hydrolysis of lactose to glucose and galactose is catalyzed by the enzyme lactase, a β-galactosidase. In the human body, glucose is changed into galactose in order to enable the mammary glands to secrete lactose.

Galactose and glucose are produced by hydrolysis of lactose by ß-galactosidase. This enzyme is produced by the lac operon in Escherichia coli (E. coli).

Clinical significance

Two studies have suggested a possible link between galactose in milk and ovarian cancer. Other studies failed to show such a link.^{[How to reference and link to summary or text]}

There are some ongoing studies which suggest that Galactose may have a role in treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (a kidney disease resulting in kidney failure and proteinuria).^{[How to reference and link to summary or text]} This effect is likely to be a result of binding of Galactose to FSGS factor.^{[How to reference and link to summary or text]}

Structure and isomerism

The first and last -OH groups point the same way and the second and third -OH groups point the other way. D-Galactose has the same configuration at its penultimate carbon as D-glyceraldehyde. Galactose is an optical isomer of glucose.

Liver galactose metabolism

In the liver, galactose is converted to glucose 6-phosphate in the following reactions:

       galacto-                uridyl                phosphogluco-
        kinase               transferase                mutase
   gal --------> gal 1 P ------------------> glc 1 P -----------> glc 6 P
                            ^           \
                           /             v
                        UDP-glc       UDP-gal
                           ^             /
                            \___________/
                              epimerase

Metabolic disorders

There are 3 important disorders involving galactose:

Name	Enzyme	Description
Galactosemia	Galactokinase	Causes cataracts and mental retardation. If a galactose-free diet starts sufficiently early, the cataracts will regress without complications however neurological damage is permanent.
UDPgalactose-4-epimerase deficiency	UDPgalactose-4-epimerase	Is extremely rare (only 2 reported cases). It causes nerve deafness.
Galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase deficiency	Galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase	Is the most problematic, as galactose-free diets do not have considerable long-term effects.

External links

• Link page to external chemical sources.

Template:Biochemical families