saccharide

(noun)

The unit structure of carbohydrates, of general formula CnH2nOn. Either the simple sugars or polymers such as starch and cellulose. The saccharides exist in either a ring or short chain conformation, and typically contain five or six carbon atoms.

Related Terms

Examples of saccharide in the following topics:

  • Glucose

    • Carbohydrates are called saccharides or, if they are relatively small, sugars.
    • Glucose and other saccharides are extensively cleaved by periodic acid, thanks to the abundance of vicinal diol moieties in their structure.
    • This oxidative cleavage, known as the Malaprade reaction is particularly useful for the analysis of selective O-substituted derivatives of saccharides, since ether functions do not react.

  • Digestive Processes of the Small Intestine

    • Lactase is absent in most adult humans and for them lactose, like most poly-saccharides, is not digested in the small intestine.

  • Absorption and Feces Formation in the Large Intestine

    • In humans, these include most complex saccharides (at most, three disaccharides are digestible by humans).

  • Carbohydrate Molecules

  • Gustation: Taste Buds and Taste

    • Natural sweeteners such as saccharides activate the GPCRs to release gustducin.