Heptoses, naturally occurring

The higher-carbon sugars formed the subject matter of the first review to appear in this Series on that occasion, particular attention was devoted to the Fischer cyanohydrin synthesis which, until 1942, had been the only method available for preparing these sugars. Since that time, considerable advances have been made in the field of the higher sugars, notably in the development of new synthetic methods and in determination of the role played by heptoses, especially sedoheptulose, in natural systems. Moreover, the recently reported isolations of the first naturally occurring... 

The relationships between the naturally occurring heptoses and the corresponding heptitols and hexoses are shown below ... 

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