April 11, 2012

Disaccharides in food

Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides linked together with a special linkage, called a glycosidic bond. The following disaccharides are important in human nutrition: sucrose, lactose and maltose.

Sucrose or table sugar is the most common and contains glucose and fructose. It is commonly known in households and is found in many plant fruits and saps.

Chemically sucrose is one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule linked together.

Galactose seldom found free in nature, galactose is part of lactose, the sugar found in milk. Lactose is composed of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of galactose.

About 5% of fluid milk is lactose, or milk sugar. Human milk has a higher concentration of lactose than cow’s milk, so human tastes sweeter than cow’s milk.

Maltose is formed by the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch and is an important component of the barley malt used to brew beer.

 Maltose also primarily used in the production of breakfast cereal and in some infant formula. It is a homogenous disaccharide consisting of two units of glucose.
Disaccharides in food

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