a sweet-tasting hexose sugar derived from the berries of the mountain ash by bacterial action: used in the synthesis of ascorbic acid. Formula: CH2OH(CHOH)3COCH2OH
Word origin
C19: from sorb + -ose2
sorbose in American English
(ˈsɔrˌboʊs)
noun
a white, crystalline hexose, C6H12O6, obtained by fermenting sorbitol: it is used in the manufacture of vitamin C