galactose

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galactose A six‐carbon sugar (a monosaccharide) differing from glucose only in position of the hydroxyl group on carbon‐4. It is about one‐third as sweet as sucrose. The main dietary source is the disaccharide lactose in milk, and it is important in formation of the galactolipids (cerebrosides) of nerve tissue. See also galactosaemia.

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