Sucrose has a 'head-to-head' glycosidic linkage, and the two monosaccharide units present in a sucrose molecule are α-D-glucose and β-D-fructose.
Glycolipids are lipid molecules that have one or more carbohydrate units covalently bonded to them. Glycoproteins, such as immunoglobins, are key components of the body’s immune response to invading foreign materials.
An additional common type of glycosidic linkage involves carbons 1 and 6, such as in the linkage between two α-D-glucose molecules. Pasteurization is a quick-heating process that kills most of the bacteria and retards the souring process.
Maltose is often called malt sugar, and cellobiose contains a β (1 → 4) glycosidic linkage.
Invert sugar is the equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose produced from the hydrolysis of sucrose. The souring of milk is caused by the conversion of lactose to lactic acid by bacteria in the milk.
Lactase is the enzyme required to digest lactose. When lactose remains undigested, it can cause fullness, discomfort, cramping, nausea, and diarrhea.
Chitin gives rigidity to the exoskeletons of crabs, lobsters, shrimp, insects, and other arthropods. The product of complete hydrolysis of chitin is D-glucosamine.
Lactose is made up of a β-D-galactose unit and a D-glucose unit. Hydrolysis of maltose produces two molecules of D-glucose.
Heparin acts as a blood anticoagulant, preventing the formation of clots and retarding the growth of existing clots. Heparin is naturally present in mast cells, which are part of the immune system.
Maltose has an α (1 → 4) glycosidic linkage, and the bond linking two monosaccharides in a disaccharide is called a glycosidic linkage.
Cellulose is the structural component of plant cell walls and is the most abundant naturally occurring polysaccharide. Humans lack the enzymes capable of catalyzing the hydrolysis of β (1 → 4) linkages in cellulose, making it indigestible.
An amino sugar is produced, which is important as a building block of polysaccharides found in chitin and hyaluronic acid.
The identity of the monosaccharide repeating unit(s), the length of the polymer chain, the type of glycosidic linkage, and the degree of branching distinguish various polysaccharides. Polysaccharides can form branched chain structures, while proteins and nucleic acids occur only as linear (unbranched) polymers.
They are stable in aqueous solution and play important roles in the metabolism of carbohydrates. Phosphate esters form from the reaction of hydroxyl groups of a monosaccharide with inorganic oxyacids.
Glycogen is a polysaccharide containing only glucose units, serving as the glucose storage polysaccharide in humans and animals. Glycogen is about three times more highly branched than amylopectin and can contain up to 1,000,000 glucose units.
Lactose intolerance is a condition in which people lack the enzyme lactase, which is needed to hydrolyze lactose to galactose and glucose. Human mother’s milk contains 7% – 8% lactose.
Glycosides are acetals formed from cyclic monosaccharides by replacing the hemiacetal carbon —OH group with an —OR group.
Raffinose's monosaccharide components are galactose, glucose, and fructose. The trisaccharide present in solanine’s structure involves D-glucose, D-galactose, and L-rhamnose.
D-Glucitol is commonly known as D-Sorbitol. During reduction, the carbonyl group is reduced to a hydroxyl group, resulting in a polyhydroxy alcohol or sugar alcohol.
A polysaccharide is a polymer that contains many monosaccharide units bonded by glycosidic linkages. Homopolysaccharides contain only one type of monosaccharide, while heteropolysaccharides contain more than one type.
Lactose is an important ingredient in commercially produced infant formulas designed to simulate mother's milk, and it is the major sugar found in milk.
The two types of polyglucose polysaccharides found in starch are amylose and amylopectin. Starch is a homopolysaccharide containing only glucose monosaccharide units, serving as the energy-storage polysaccharide in plants.
