Turanose (3-a-d-glucopyranosido-d-fructose) differs from the more common disaccharides in that the glycosidic union is on the carbon adjacent to the reducing group. The proximity of the reducing group influences the stability of the glycosidic union and causes the disaccharide to be particularly susceptible to alkaline hydrolysis. On treatment with limewater, turanose undergoes hydrolysis rather than a normal Lobry de Bruyn interconversion. In the presence of oxygen, in alkaline solution, the sugar is hydrolyzed in large measure and the resulting glucose and fructose are oxidized to arabonic acid. On the other hand, lactulose (4-p-d-galactopyranosido-d-fructose) is relatively stable to alkaline hydrolysis, and when treated with oxygen in solution containing potassium hydroxide it yields the salt of a disaccharide acid, presumably 3-p-d-galactopyranosido-darabonic acid. The difference in the behavior of the two sugars illustrates the importance of the location of the glycosidic union in relation to the behavior of the sugars in alkaline solution. The location of the glycosidic union also affects the amount of reduction with alkaline copper reagents. Copper-reducing values by the Munson-Walker method are reported for turanose at several concentrations CONTENTS