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pyran, any of a class of organic compounds of the heterocyclic series in which five carbon atoms and one oxygen atom are present in a ring structure. Of two possible simple pyran compounds, only one is known; it was prepared in 1962 and found to be very unstable. Among the stable members of this family is tetrahydropyran, made by hydrogenating the dihydro compound. Sugars often occur in pyranose forms containing the tetrahydropyran ring: a typical example is the glucose unit present in sucrose, starch, cellulose, and glycogen.
In the pyrones, a carbonyl group (>C=O) replaces the methylene group (>CH2) of the pyrans. The toad venoms and the toxic principles of squill are pyrones of the steroid family.
The pyrylium salts are coloured substances in which the pyran ring exists as a positively charged ion. The closely related flavylium salts occur as pigments in the rose, the blue cornflower, and certain other flowers.
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