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Structure of the amylose molecule Structure of the amylopectin molecule Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds . This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage.
In addition, cellulose is a straight chain polymer, and each cellulose molecule is long and rod-like. This differs from starch, which is a coiled molecule. A result of these differences in structure is that, compared to starch and other carbohydrates, cellulose cannot be broken down into its glucose subunits by any enzymes produced by animals.
3D structure of cellulose, a beta-glucan polysaccharide Amylose is a linear polymer of glucose mainly linked with α(1→4) bonds. It can be made of several thousands of glucose units. It is one of the two components of starch, the other being amylopectin.
Two common examples are cellulose, a main component of the cell wall in plants, and starch, a name derived from the Anglo-Saxon stercan, meaning to stiffen. [2] To name a polysaccharide composed of a single type of monosaccharide, that is a homopolysaccharide, the ending “-ose” of the monosaccharide is replaced with “-an”. [3]
Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. [6] The cellulose content of cotton fibre is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%. [7] [8] [9] Cellulose is mainly used to produce paperboard and paper. Smaller quantities are converted into a wide variety of derivative products such as cellophane and ...
Starch, consisting of two different polymers of glucose, is a readily degradable form of chemical energy stored by cells, and can be converted to other types of energy. [66] Another polymer of glucose is cellulose, which is a linear chain composed of several hundred or thousand glucose units.
In contrast, each polymer of cellulose comprises 7,000–15,000 glucose molecules. [5] In addition, hemicelluloses may be branched polymers, while cellulose is unbranched. Hemicelluloses are embedded in the cell walls of plants, sometimes in chains that form a 'ground' – they bind with pectin to cellulose to form a network of cross-linked ...
Starch, cellulose, and glycogen ("animal starch") are common glucose polymers (polysaccharides). Some of these polymers (starch or glycogen) serve as energy stores, while others (cellulose and chitin, which is made from a derivative of glucose) have structural roles. Oligosaccharides of glucose combined with other sugars serve as important ...