Tartronic acid semialdehyde

Chemical compound

Tartronic acid semialdehyde is the organic compound with the formula OCHCH(OH)CO2H. The molecule has three functional groups, aldehyde, alcohol, and carboxylic acid. A white solid, it occurs naturally. A near neutral pH, it exists as the hydrated carboxylate (HO)2CHCH(OH)CO2−, which is referred to as tartronate semialdehyde. Tartronate semialdehyde is produced and consumed on a prodigious scale as an intermediate in photorespiration, an undesirable side reaction that competes with photosynthesis. It is produced biologically by the condensation of two equivalents of glyoxalate:2 OC(H)CO2H → OC(H)CH(OH)CO2H + CO2

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