Ketoses biochemical oxidation

In clinical chemistry however, these systems have not been differentiated as yet. Since the oxidation of an alcohol corresponds to the reduction of a ketose or an aldose, the designations ketose reductase and aldose reductase, respectively, were suggested (H4, W14). In this paper however, the enzyme or enzyme system will be named polyol or sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), although the latter expression does not characterize exacdy the enzyme s function in a general biochemical sense. But sorbitol or fructose have been commonly used as substrates in clinical chemical investigations. 

By far the most important oxidation of the hexitols is their specific biochemical transformation to ketoses. The history of this reaction dates from the fortuitous discovery of L-sorbose in mountain ash berries by Pelouze in 1852. It was not until twenty years later that Boussin-gault showed that it had arisen by bacterial oxidation of sorbitol. 

Adachi O, Fujii Y, Ghaly MF, Toyama H, Shinagawa E, Matsushita K (2001) Membrane-bound quinoprotein D-arabitol dehydrogenase of Gluconobacter suboxydans IFO 3257 a versatile enzyme for the oxidative fermentation of various ketoses. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 65 2755-2762... 

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