Dihydroxyacetone

Dihydroxyacetone is a three-carbon ketose sugar and the simplest ketose. It is used in sunless tanning products and occurs as an intermediate in carbohydrate metabolism.

Maillard reaction: A network of reactions between reducing sugars and amino compounds that produces brown pigments and flavor molecules. Dihydroxyacetone reacts with amino groups in the outer skin to form colored products.
Sunless tanning: Cosmetic skin darkening produced without ultraviolet exposure, commonly using topical dihydroxyacetone. Dihydroxyacetone is the principal active ingredient in many sunless tanning products.
Ketose: A monosaccharide whose open-chain form contains a ketone functional group. Dihydroxyacetone is the simplest ketose, with three carbon atoms.
Heinrich von Pechmann: A German chemist whose research included the discovery of dihydroxyacetone in the nineteenth century. His work first identified the compound later adopted as a tanning agent.
Melanoidin: A heterogeneous brown polymeric material formed during reactions between sugars and amino compounds. Melanoidins account for much of the color produced when dihydroxyacetone tans skin.
Stratum corneum: The outermost layer of the epidermis, composed mainly of dead, flattened cells. Topical dihydroxyacetone colors proteins in this outer skin layer rather than stimulating melanin.
Monosaccharide: A carbohydrate unit that cannot be hydrolyzed into a simpler sugar. Dihydroxyacetone is a small monosaccharide with a three-carbon backbone.
Glycerol: A three-carbon alcohol that forms the backbone of many fats and phospholipids. Dihydroxyacetone can be prepared by oxidizing glycerol.
Glycerone phosphate: A three-carbon phosphorylated ketone that participates in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Metabolic phosphorylation converts dihydroxyacetone into this central pathway intermediate.
Erythrulose: A four-carbon ketose used in some sunless tanning products, alone or with dihydroxyacetone. It can produce a similar tanning effect but develops more slowly than dihydroxyacetone.

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PyrogallolCompared with: Despite the shared name element, dihydroxyacetone is a distinct compound, not a pyrogallol use or derivative.