However, examples of naturally-occurring D-rhamnose include some species of bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Helicobacter pylori.

[2] Rhamnose can be isolated from buckthorn (Rhamnus), poison sumac, and plants in the genus Uncaria.

Rhamnose is also a component of the outer cell membrane of acid-fast bacteria in the Mycobacterium genus, which includes the organism that causes tuberculosis.

[4] Natural antibodies against L-rhamnose are present in human serum,[5] and the majority of people seem to possess IgM, IgG or both of these types of immunoglobulins capable of binding this glycan.

[6] An interesting particularity of rhamnose is the presence of formaldehyde production when reacted with periodates in the vicinal diol cleavage reaction, that makes it very useful to remove excess periodate in glycerol or other vicinal diol analysis, that would otherwise give colored blank issues.