Reduction of sugars
Sodium borohydride reduction of an aldose makes the ends of the resulting alditol chain identical, HOCH₂(CHOH)_nCH₂OH, thereby accomplishing the same configurational change produced by oxidation to an aldaric acid. Thus, allitol and galactitol from reduction of allose and galactose are achiral, and altrose and talose are reduced to the same chiral alditol. A summary of these redox reactions, and derivative nomenclature is given in the following table.