I am teaching a nutrition course and am looking for information about
a plant-derived dietary supplement. The manufacturer claims that
this combination of monosaccharides is crucial to cellular
communication since these are the most common sugar components of
glycoproteins. The list includes
galactose xylose
glucose N-acetylneuramic acid
mannose N-acetlygalactosamine
fucose N-acetlyglucosamine
I know about glucose and galactose.
My questions are:
1. Are the the other 6 sugars digested and absorbed?
2. Once absorbed, are they converted to glucose the way
galactose and fructose are?
3. Are these sugars (besides glucose and galactose, of course)
used directly for glycoprotein synthesis or are they
metabolized for energy?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Dr. Marion
amarion at charity.trinityvt.edu