228 A. I. RINGER AND EM1L J. BAUMANN 



the exact nature of them all not being known yet. If the sugars are treated 

 with a weak alkali at room temperature, a molecular rearrangement takes 

 place slowly which is known as a tautomeric rearrangement. The mechan- 

 ism of these interesting changes will he presented later. If an aldose or 

 ketose is treated with strong alkali, it becomes yellow or brownish and 

 acquires the odor of caramel. This is the basis of ^loore's test for the 

 detection of carbohydrates. The character of the products formed varies 

 with the strength of alkali used and the amount of oxygen available, for 

 the products are largely oxidation products, the sugar being a reducing 

 agent. Over one hundred degradation substances have been identified 

 as the products of the interaction of sodium hydroxid and glucose. 



Among others, a large series of acids may be formed, varying in com- 

 plexity from carbonic acid, formic acid, oxalic and lactic acids, to saccharic 

 and gluconic acids. In the absence of much oxygen, products like glycolic- 

 aldehyde CH 2 OH, glycericaldehyde CTLOH, glyoxal CHO, oxyacc- 



I II 



CHO CHOII CHO 



I 



CHO 

 tone CII 2 OH, etc., are formed. 



CII 3 



The first stages in the oxidation of glucose results in the formation of 

 gluconic and glucuronic acids both monocarboxylic acids, and then sac- 

 charic acid a dicarboxylic acid. 



CHO CHO COOH COOH 



III I 



CHOH CHOII CHOH CHOII 



III I 



CHOH CHOH CHOH CHOH 



III I 



CHOH CHOH CHOH CHOH 



III I 



CHOH CHOII CHOH CHOH 



III I 



CIL.OH COOH CH 2 OH COOH 



Glucose Glucuronic Gluconic Saccharic 



Acid Acid Acid 



(Glucuronic acid is the most interesting of these derivatives physiologically. 

 Many substances that are not readily oxidized in the body, such as camphor, 



