β-D-galactose (CHEM042465)

β-d-galactose is a member of the class of compounds known as hexoses. Hexoses are monosaccharides in which the sugar unit is a is a six-carbon containing moeity. β-d-galactose is soluble (in water) and a very weakly acidic compound (based on its pKa). β-d-galactose can be found in a number of food items such as other cereal product, almond, sea-buckthornberry, and pepper (capsicum), which makes β-d-galactose a potential biomarker for the consumption of these food products. Galactose (galacto- + -ose, "milk sugar"), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweet as glucose, and about 30% as sweet as sucrose. It is a C-4 epimer of glucose .