What is "fructosamine"

n. (context organic compound English) A chemical compound that can be considered the result of a reaction between fructose and ammonia or an amine (with a molecule of water being released).

Fructosamines are compounds that result from glycation reactions between a sugar (such as fructose or glucose) and a primary amine, followed by isomerization via the Amadori rearrangement. Biologically, fructosamines are recognized by fructosamine-3-kinase, which may trigger the degradation of advanced glycation end-products (though the true clinical significance of this pathway is unclear). Fructosamine can also refer to the specific compound 1-amino-1-deoxy-D-fructose (isoglucosamine), first synthesized by Nobel laureate Hermann Emil Fischer in 1886.

Most commonly, fructosamine refers to a laboratory test for diabetes management that is rarely used in clinical practice (simple blood glucose monitoring or hemoglobin A1c testing are preferred). Many direct-to-consumer lab testing companies sell fructosamine tests, but these are unnecessary and of limited clinical value.