View source for Furan

Furan is an organic cyclic carbon molecule, formed of 5 components: 4 [[Carbon|Carbon]] atoms and 1 [[Oxygen|Oxygen]] atom. It is an aromatic compound, so it has 2 unstable, [[Benzene|delocalized]] double bonds in the ring. Furan is similar in structure to [[Pyran|Pyran]], which is similar, except it consists of 5 Carbon atoms and 1 Oxygen atom, has different [[Chemical_bond|bond angles]], and does not contain any double bonds. 

Furans are important to the metabolism because of the many furanose sugars that exist in the body that are used to store energy. [[Furanose|Furanose]] sugars do not contain any double bonds, unlike Furan. The term furan may also refer to any compound that is similar to Furan in structure.<br>