Glyceraldehyde is a triose monosaccharide with chemical formula C3H6O3. It is the simplest of all common aldoses. It is a sweet colorless crystalline solid that's an intermediate compound in carbohydrate metabolism. The word comes from combining glycerine and aldehyde, as glyceraldehyde is merely glycerine with one hydroxide changed to an aldehyde. Glyceraldehyde has a chiral center and therefore exists as two different enantiomers with opposite optical rotation: R from Latin rectus meaning r… (More on D-glyceraldehyde)