Fructose
Fructose, also known as fruit sugar, is a naturally occurring monosaccharide found in many plants, fruits, honey, and root vegetables. It is a simple sugar with a sweet taste and is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, alongside glucose and galactose. Fructose appears as a white crystalline powder, highly soluble in water, and is commonly used as a sweetener in food and beverage industries due to its high relative sweetness. It plays important roles in metabolism and is used extensively in the production of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other sweetening agents.