MOLECULE

Ribitol

Ribitol, also known as adonitol, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as sugar alcohols. These are hydrogenated forms of sugars in which the carbonyl group (aldehyde or ketone of the reducing sugar) has been reduced to a primary or secondary hydroxyl group. Ribitol is formed by the reduction of the 5-carbon sugar ribose. Ribitol occurs naturally in some plants such as the pheasant’s eye (Adonis vernalis) and in the cell walls of some Gram-positive bacteria (in the form of ribitol phosphate). In humans, ribitol is a metabolic end product formed by the reduction of ribose in human fibroblasts and erythrocytes (pentitol, sugar alcohol, polyol). Industrially, tibitol can be used as a cryopreservative and has a strong protective effect on lactic acid bacteria during freeze-drying. Ribitol has been reported as one of the sugar alcohols present in cannabis plants (PMID: 4688907).