General description

D-Fructose (fruit sugar) is a reducing sugar. In fruits it is a very important sugar component, and mostly exists in free form in plants and often together with sucrose and D-glucose. It is a component of polysaccharide inulin and also a component of di-, tri- and oligo-saccharides.

Biochem/physiol Actions

D-Fructose is an important monosaccharide used in a wide range of applications. D-fructose is used in carbohydrate research, in organic and bioorganic synthesis; as a model compound; as a reference material, as an enzyme substrate and as a nutrient medium.

It can be produced by separation from glucose and by hydrolysis (inversion) of sucrose.1 It also possess metabolic and endocrine impact that shows that increased consumption of fructose is a contributing factor in the development of obesity and the accompanying metabolic abnormalities observed in the insulin resistance syndrome.