Introduction

(Greek, galaktos=milk). An aldohexose (see aldose and hexose). Galactose is similar to glucose, but is less soluble and less sweet in taste. Galactose occurs naturally in both D- and L- forms (chemical differences), and the L- form is found primarily in plants. Galactose is part of lactose and other oligosaccharides. This is because lactose is a polysaccharide composed of both galactose and glucose.