lippincot making no sense

[evenstar]

hey all! im in a fix.plz help me out,it says in the lippincot textbook of biochem that carbohydrates with an aldehyde as the most oxidised functional group are called aldehydes...what does that mean"most oxidized group'??the one with the most bonds??

[JGK]

hey all! im in a fix.plz help me out,it says in the lippincot textbook of biochem that carbohydrates with an aldehyde as the most oxidised functional group are called aldehydes (are you sure this isn't Aldoses?)...what does that mean"most oxidized group'??the one with the most bonds??

 

I don't have a copy of Lippincot but if you are looking at monsaccharide compounds, Wikipedia can be of some help. I believe "most oxidised" refers to the functional group with the least number of hydrogen atoms.

 

Aldose Link

 

Ketose link