Disaccharide
Chemistry
A disaccharide is a sugar (a carbohydrate) composed of two monosaccharides.
The two monosaccharides are bonded via a condensation reaction. This bond can be between the 1, 4 or 6 carbon on each component monosaccharide. So even if both component sugars are the same (e.g. glucose), different bond combinations result in disaccharides with different chemical and physical properties.
Like monosaccharides, they are crystalline, water soluble, and sweet tasting.
Common disaccharides
- sucrose (known as "table sugar", "cane sugar", or "beet sugar")
- lactose (milk sugar)
- maltose producing during the malting of barley.
- Trehalose is present in fungi and insects, and has been successfully produced at an industrial scale by enzymatic treatment of starch as a food ingredient.
Maltose and cellobiose are hydrolysis products of the polysaccharides starch and cellulose respectively.