Understanding Glucose: What It Is and Where It Comes From

Glucose is a basic form of sugar. It is also known as grape sugar, blood sugar or corn sugar.

Word Breakdown

• In the word "glucose," the "gluc" part means sweet. The suffix "ose" at the end of many words indicates some type of sugar.

Sweet Greek Beginnings

• Glucose also comes from the Greek gleukos meaning must or sweet wine. Gleukos comes from a former Greek word, glykys, meaning sweet. So essentially, glucose is an oxymoron because it means sweet sugar.

Tessellating Crystals

• Glucose crystals have a star-like structure that tessellates (tiles, patterns) in a clockwise direction. It is available in a white powder like table sugar or in crystals like sugar cubes.

Abundant in Nature

• Glucose occurs abundantly in nature in animals, plants, fungi and protists. Like any sugar, its makeup will always have a combination of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Synthesis of Glucose

• Plant photosynthesis produces glucose. Bacteria produce glucose by chemosynthesis. Man-made glucose is made by hydrolyzing (breaking down using water) starch using enzymes.