trehalose

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A disaccharide formed from two glucose units; it is an isomer of maltose.

   “The most important of these is the common sugar furnished by the sugar cane, hence termed cane sugar, related to which are some others of small importance, viz., trehalose, melezitose, and melitose, represented by the general formula (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁,xH₂O).”

   “The researchers fed a natural sugar called trehalose to mice genetically engineered to have a severe version of Huntington's disease.”

   “Major components of the polar lipids are the acylated trehaloses which differ considerably in their acylation patterns to trehalose and in fatty acid content.”

   “Two bacterial strains that have plagued hospitals around the country may have been at least partly fueled by a sugar additive in our food products, scientists say. Trehalose, a sugar that is added to a wide range of food products, could have allowed certain strains of Clostridium difficile to become far more virulent than they were before, a new study finds.”