- For hexuronic acid, i.e. the older name of Vitamin C, see Ascorbic acid.
Uronic acids are a class of
sugar acids with both
carbonyl and
carboxylic acid functional groups. They are sugars in which the terminal carbon's
hydroxyl group has been oxidized to a
carboxylic acid. Oxidation of the terminal aldehyde instead yields an
aldonic acid, while oxidation of both the terminal hydroxyl group and the aldehyde yields an
aldaric acid. The names of uronic acids are generally based on their parent sugars, however some of the most common do not have direct parents, and are formed by
epimerization (e.g., iduronic acid is an
epimer of glucuronic acid). Uronic acids that have six carbons are called hexuronic acids.