Term: lactols https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.L03438 Definition: Cyclic hemiacetals formed by intramolecular addition of a hydroxy group to an aldehydic or ketonic carbonyl group. They are thus 1-oxacy-cycloalkan-2-ols or unsaturated analogues, e.g. L03438.png Related Terms: 1) hemiacetals (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.H02774). 2) intramolecular (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.I03130). Image: Not defined (https://goldbook.iupac.org/img/inline/L03438.png) Source: Citation: 'lactols' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.L03438 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.