# L-Glucose v. D-Glucose

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-glucose-v-d-glucose/29019>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 11, 2000, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-glucose-v-d-glucose/29019 "2000-08-11T20:47:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![LazarusLong42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@LazarusLong42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LazarusLong42)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-glucose-v-d-glucose/29019/1 "2000-08-11T20:47:16Z")

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For the science types out there…

Does L-glucose taste the same as D-glucose? I have heard that it does; now someone on another board tells me he’s heard it does not. While this isn’t an extremely important thing, I’m now wondering. Does anyone _know_ with any certainty?

LL

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-glucose-v-d-glucose/29019/2 "2000-08-11T23:34:00Z")

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I’m thinking not, because it would most likely need a separate receptor in the taste buds. But, no, I don’t know for sure.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2000, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-glucose-v-d-glucose/29019/3 "2000-08-12T01:05:01Z")

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This link may be of interest  
[http://antoine.frostburg.edu/college/chemistry/senese/chemed-l/199806/msg00087.html](http://antoine.frostburg.edu/college/chemistry/senese/chemed-l/199806/msg00087.html)

It should be noted that glucose is not particularly sweet anyway. Sucrose (table sugar) is a disaccharide which is composed of (essentially) one moleclue each of fructose and glucose bound together . It is the fructose that supplies most of the sweetness.

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**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2000, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-glucose-v-d-glucose/29019/4 "2000-08-12T02:32:18Z")

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IIRC, they taste different. How they are different, I dunno.