Identify the major product formed in the following reaction:

Step-by-step solution

The given reactant is cytidine, a nucleoside consisting of a cytosine base attached to a ribose sugar ring. The ribose moiety contains a vicinal diol (1,2-diol) system at the C2' and C3' positions. Periodic acid ( HIO₄ ) is a specific oxidizing agent that cleaves the carbon-carbon bond of vicinal diols, converting the hydroxyl-bearing carbons into carbonyl groups (aldehydes or ketones). In this reaction, the C2'-C3' bond of the ribose ring undergoes oxidative cleavage: 1. The C2' carbon is oxidized to an aldehyde g