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Amylose A is a parallel double-helix of linear chains of glucose. Amylose is made up of α(1→4) bound glucose molecules. The carbon atoms on glucose are numbered, starting at the aldehyde (C=O) carbon, so, in amylose, the 1-carbon on one glucose molecule is linked to the 4-carbon on the next glucose molecule (α(1→4) bonds). [3]
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]
Carbohydrate synthesis is a sub-field of organic chemistry concerned with generating complex carbohydrate structures from simple units (monosaccharides). The generation of carbohydrate structures usually involves linking monosaccharides or oligosaccharides through glycosidic bonds, a process called glycosylation. Therefore, it is important to ...
Amylopectin contains a larger number of Glucose units (2000 to 200,000) as compared to Amylose containing 200 to 1000 α-Glucose units. In contrast, amylose contains very few α(1→6) bonds, or even none at all. This causes amylose to be hydrolyzed more slowly, but also creates higher density and insolubility. [8]
Maltose is the two-unit member of the amylose homologous series, the key structural motif of starch. When beta-amylase breaks down starch, it removes two glucose units at a time, producing maltose. An example of this reaction is found in germinating seeds, which is why it was named after malt. [4] Unlike sucrose, it is a reducing sugar. [5]
Disaccharidases are glycoside hydrolases, enzymes that break down certain types of sugars called disaccharides into simpler sugars called monosaccharides. In the human body , disaccharidases are made mostly in an area of the small intestine 's wall called the brush border , making them members of the group of "brush border enzymes".
It is most commonly produced by the digestive enzyme alpha-amylase (a common enzyme in human saliva) on amylose in starch. The creation of both maltotriose and maltose during this process is due to the random manner in which alpha amylase hydrolyses α-1,4 glycosidic bonds. It is the shortest chain oligosaccharide that can be classified as ...
Working from the non-reducing end, β-amylase catalyzes the hydrolysis of the second α-1,4 glycosidic bond, cleaving off two glucose units at a time. During the ripening of fruit , β-amylase breaks starch into maltose, resulting in the sweet flavor of ripe fruit.