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An aglycone is the nonsugar partner recovered when the carbohydrate residue of a glycoside is removed. For the classical oxygen-linked description, IUPAC identifies that partner as the compound $\mathrm{ROH}$. The sugar-derived residue is sometimes called the glycone.^[ref]

Methyl α-D-glucopyranoside supplies a concrete example. Its glycosidic attachment contains $\mathrm{OC}{\mathrm{H}}_3$, so $R$ is a methyl group, $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{H}}_3$. The corresponding aglycone is methanol, $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{H}}_3\mathrm{OH}$. The fragment $R$ and the compound $\mathrm{ROH}$ are different chemical objects; a label on a structural drawing should not silently replace the recovered partner molecule.

As original formula bookkeeping, combining free glucose with methanol and subtracting water gives the molecular formula ${\mathrm{C}}_7{\mathrm{H}}_{14}{\mathrm{O}}_6$ of the methyl glycoside. Reversing that balance accounts for the two partners of formal hydrolysis. It says nothing about reaction speed or the conditions needed for cleavage.

Calling a compound an aglycone describes its relationship to a particular glycoside; it does not by itself identify a biological activity. Oxygen-, nitrogen-, sulfur- and carbon-linked sugar derivatives require their corresponding attachment descriptions, so the $\mathrm{ROH}$ example should not be applied indiscriminately to every sugar-containing compound.^[ref]

The glycone is the carbohydrate-derived residue of a glycoside, distinguished from its nonsugar partner, the aglycone. IUPAC records this usage particularly for naturally occurring glycosides. A residue within the intact compound and a free sugar recovered after cleavage are related chemical objects, but they do not necessarily have the same formula or bonding pattern.^[ref]

Methyl α-D-glucopyranoside makes the distinction concrete. Its sugar-derived part has the stereochemistry of an α-D-glucopyranosyl glycosyl group. The attached methyl-containing partner gives the classical oxygen-linked glycoside; formal hydrolysis yields free glucose and methanol. Naming the glycone does not erase the distinction between an attached residue and the free hemiacetal.

An original formula partition follows the glycosyl-prefix convention. Remove the anomeric $\mathrm{OH}$ from ${\mathrm{C}}_6{\mathrm{H}}_{12}{\mathrm{O}}_6$ to obtain a group of composition ${\mathrm{C}}_6{\mathrm{H}}_{11}{\mathrm{O}}_5$; combine it with $\mathrm{OC}{\mathrm{H}}_3$ to recover ${\mathrm{C}}_7{\mathrm{H}}_{14}{\mathrm{O}}_6$. In this partition the linking oxygen belongs to the methyl-containing piece. A glycosyloxy-prefix partition includes that oxygen on the sugar-derived side instead. The structural convention must be stated before assigning atoms to named fragments.^[ref]

Formal hydrolysis also adds water, so it is incorrect to identify the formula of the free sugar simply by cutting the intact molecule into two unmodified fragments. The example connects residue naming with atom conservation. It does not specify a cleavage protocol or establish any biological activity of the resulting aglycone.