Fructose aqueous ammonia

When sugars are treated with aqueous ammonia for a short time at low temperature in the absence of a catalyst, the reaction is arrested before heterocyclic compounds can be formed in appreciable proportion, and the products are mainly epimerization products of the sugars, probably formed by way of their 2,3-enediols. These epimerization products are summarized in Table I which shows the reactions of D-glucose, D-fructose, lactose, maltose, and melibiose with aqueous ammonia for a short time at low temperature. A dark-colored, high polymer is also formed in some instances (the browning reaction). In the ammoniacal solution, the monosaccharides are epimerized the disaccharides are epimerized and, in addition, may be hydrolyzed to monosaccharides that can also be epimerized hence, the variety of products obtained may be considerable. 

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