What are disaccharides? Give some examples.
Answers
A disaccharide, also called a double sugar, is a molecule formed by two monosaccharides, or simple sugars. Three common disaccharides are sucrose, maltose, and lactose. They have 12 carbon atoms, and their chemical formula is C12H22O11. Other, less common disaccharides include lactulose, trehalose, and cellobiose. Disaccharides are formed through dehydration reactions in which a total of one water molecule is removed from the two monosaccharides.
Functions of Disaccharides
Disaccharides are carbohydrates found in many foods and are often added as sweeteners. Sucrose, for example, is table sugar, and it is the most common disaccharide that humans eat. It is also found in other foods like beetroot. When disaccharides like sucrose are digested, they are broken down into their simple sugars and used for energy. Lactose is found in breast milk and provides nutrition for infants. Maltose is a sweetener that is often found in chocolates and other candies.
Plants store energy in the form of disaccharides like sucrose and it is also used for transporting nutrients in the phloem. Since it is an energy storage source, many plants such as sugar cane are high in sucrose. Trehalose is used for transport in some algae and fungi. Plants also store energy in polysaccharides, which are many monosaccharides put together. Starch is the most common polysaccharide used for storage in plants, and it is broken down into maltose. Plants also use disaccharides to transport monosaccharides like glucose, fructose, and galactose between cells. Packaging monosaccharides into disaccharides makes the molecules less likely to break down during transport.
Examples of Disaccharides
Sucrose , Lactose,Maltose
When two sugar molecules or monosaccharides join together by glycosidic linkage they are called a disaccharide.
Explanation:
- Disaccharides are the sugar which are formed from joining of two monosaccharide with the help of glycosidic linkage.
- Monosaccharides are the simplest sugar because it is made up of one one sugar molecule and can not be broken further.
- Some of the examples of disaccharides are sucrose, lactose, maltose. Sucrose is made up by joining of glucose and fructose, lactose is made by galactose and glucose combination and maltose is made up of glucose + glucose.
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