Substances derived from monosaccharides
The main substances derived from monosaccharides with biological interest are aminoglucids, resulting from substituting an alcoholic group for an amino group.
The most important are the D-glucosamine, the N-acetyl-glucosamine, which polymerised form the chitin of the exoskeleton of arthropods and is involved in the formation of the bacterial wall, the N-acetyl-muramic acid , also present in the bacterial wall, and sialic acids present in glycoproteins and glycolipids of the cytoplasmic membrane.