Zymosan A is a polysaccharide with repeating glucose units conntected by β-1,3-glycosidic linkages. Zymosan is prepared from the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is often used to induce sterile inflammation, including proinflammatory cytokines, protein phosphorylation and inositol phosphate formation. Zymosan is insoluble in water, but may be suspended uniformly in saline solutions.

α-Chloralose is used as an anesthetic and analgesia for laboratory animals.

α-Cyclodextrin is a polysaccharide of six glucose units that are covalently attached end-to-end via α-1, 4 linkages. There are two other naturally occurring cyclodextrins, β- and Ɣ-, which contain seven and eight glucose units respectively. In water, these fibers take on a toroid or truncated cone configuration. In aqueous medium, the exterior surface of cyclodextrins is hydrophilic while the interior core is hydrophobic. This allows for the formation of guest-host relationships with small hydrophobic molecules.

α-Cyclodextrin is a natural, soluble dietary fiber. It has the unique ability among known fibers to bind nine times its weight in fat. This high ratio of binding makes α-Cyclodextrin practical as a weight loss supplement.

α-D-Fucose is a six-carbon deoxy monosaccharide. It is equivalent to 6-deoxy-D-galactose. D-fucose acts as a non-metabolizable analogue of L-arabinose and inhibits induction of the L-arabinose operon in some bacteria. Some resistant bacteria possess a mutant araC gene where D-fucose acts as a gratuitous inducer of the L-arabinose operon. D-fucose induces β-galactosidase to some extent in Lactobacillus plantarum. α-D-fucose inhibits the eukaryotic enzyme Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1A), thereby causing gene repression. α-D-fucose is being explored in treatments for neurodegenerative diseases because of its effect on gene repression. Seen upregulated in many cancers, LSD1A overexpression pushes the cell cycle of otherwise non-transformed cells so α-D-fucose is being explored in cancers treatments as well.

α-D-Galactose 1-phosphate, dipotassium salt pentahydrate is a phosphorylated sugar produced from galactose by galactokinase. It is an intermediate found in the conversion pathway of glucose and galactose.