Chapter 25: Carbohydrates

Saccharides

• Saccharide is a term derived from the Latin for sugar (origin = "sweet sand")
• Carbohydrates are often classified according to the number of saccharide units they contain.
• A monosaccharide contains a single carbohydrate, over 200 different monosaccharides are known.
• A disaccharide gives two carbohydrate units on hydrolysis.
• An oligosaccharide gives a "few" carbohydrate units on hydrolysis, usually 3 to 10.
• A polysaccharide gives many carbohydrates on hydrolysis, examples are starch and cellulose.

a monosaccharide glucose	a disaccharide sucrose

© Dr. Ian Hunt, Department of Chemistry