Ribose

Ribose is a carbohydrate with the formula C₅H₁₀O₅; specifically, it is a pentose monosaccharide (simple sugar) with linear form H−(C=O)−(CHOH)₄−H, which has all the hydroxyl groups on the same side in the Fischer projection.

The term may refer to either of two enantiomers. The term usually indicates D-ribose, which occurs widely in nature and is discussed here. Its synthetic mirror image, L-ribose, is not found in nature.