The main synthetic reactions o f carbohydrates a t the anomeric center involve ionic processes. commonly cationic processes for glycosylations and anionic processes for C-branching reactions. The use of homolytic or radical reactions has emerged in the last decade for the synthesis of complex molecules. These developments are of great interest for synthetic purposes and for the study of stereoelectronic effects at the anomeric center of carbohydrates. This short review summarizes the principal results of radical transformations at C-1 of aldoses.