Erythrose Explained

Erythrose is a tetrose saccharide with the chemical formula C₄H₈O₄. It has one aldehyde group, and is thus part of the aldose family. The natural isomer is D-erythrose; it is a diastereomer of D-threose.^[1]

Erythrose was first isolated in 1849 from rhubarb by the French pharmacist Louis Feux Joseph Garot (1798-1869),^[2] and was named as such because of its red hue in the presence of alkali metals (ἐρυθρός, "red").^{[3] [4]}

Erythrose 4-phosphate is an intermediate in the pentose phosphate pathway^[5] and the Calvin cycle.^[6]

Oxidative bacteria can be made to use erythrose as its sole energy source.^[7]

See also

• Erythritol

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2015-04-01. 4.5: Diastereomers. 2021-11-17. Chemistry LibreTexts. en.
2. https://books.google.com/books?id=L_tBAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA472 Obituary of Garot
3. Garot (1850) "De la matière colorante rouge des rhubarbes exotiques et indigènes et de son application (comme matière colorante) aux arts et à la pharmacie" (On the red coloring material of exotic and indigenous rhubarb and on its application (as a coloring material) in the arts and in pharmacy), Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, 3rd series, 17 : 5-19. Erythrose is named on p. 10: "Celui que je propose, sans y attacher toutefois la moindre importance, est celui dérythrose, du verbe grec 'ερυθραινω, rougir (1)." (The one [i.e., name] that I propose, without attaching any importance to it, is that of erythrose, from the Greek verb ερυθραινω, to redden (1).)
4. Book: Wells. David Ames. Cross. Charles Robert. Bliss. George. Trowbridge. John. Nichols. William Ripley. Kneeland. Samuel. Annual of Scientific Discovery. 1851. Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln. Boston. 211. erythrose discovery.. 11 December 2014.
5. Kruger. Nicholas J. von Schaewen. Antje. The oxidative pentose phosphate pathway: structure and organisation. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. June 2003. 6. 3. 236–246. 10.1016/S1369-5266(03)00039-6. 12753973.
6. Schwender. Jörg. Goffman. Fernando. Ohlrogge. John B.. Shachar-Hill. Yair. Rubisco without the Calvin cycle improves the carbon efficiency of developing green seeds. Nature. 9 December 2004. 432. 7018. 779–782. 10.1038/nature03145. 15592419. 2004Natur.432..779S. 4401215.
7. Hiatt. Howard H. Horecker. B L. D-erythrose metabolism in a strain of Alcaligenes faecalis. Journal of Bacteriology. 13 October 1955. 71. 6. 649–654. 10.1128/jb.71.6.649-654.1956. 13345750. 314578. 11 December 2014.