aglycone

1 9.9

The part of a molecule that is not sugar and stays after you remove the sugar

noun
/ˈæɡlɪˌkoʊn/

Specialized

: aglicona

The aglycone portion often determines the medicinal properties of the compound.

Examples

After hydrolysis, the non-sugar part of the compound is known as the aglycone.
When the glycoside is hydrolyzed, the aglycone is separated from the sugar component.
Researchers studied the biological activity of the aglycone after removing the sugar group.
The aglycone is essential for glycoside function.
What is an aglycone?
In the study, researchers identified the aglycone as the active component without the sugar moiety.
To understand its effects, scientists analyzed the aglycone that results from removing the sugar from the glycoside.

Synonyms

genin

vsaglycone

Specialized

9.9

The part of a plant chemical that remains after its sugar is removed

has identical meaning and refers to the same non sugar fragment after hydrolysis

Surface Forms

aglycone singular

aglycones plural

Morphology

aglycone = glycone (opaque) = a + glycone

Although analyzable as a- (privative) + glycone in biochemical terminology, both elements are specialized and unlikely to allow a B1 learner to derive 'non-sugar part'.

Etymology

Aglycone comes from the parts a- meaning 'not' and glyco- meaning 'sugar'. So an aglycone is the non-sugar part of a compound that stays behind when the sugar is removed.