Can You Define The Structure And Function Of Polysaccharides?

Carbohydrates are usually classified on the basis of their size as monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides or polysaccharides. They may be classified on the basis of the number of carbon(c) atoms present in the molecule.

Polysaccharides consist of hundreds of monosaccharide molecules joined together by oxygen atoms. They are the most abundant carbohydrates.Polysaccharides, which consist of glucose molecules, are, perhaps, the most important. They are called glucosans.
Polysaccharides are most abundant in plants (where they form between 60% and 90% of their dry weight) in which they serve both as structural materials and as reserve food supplies.

One important property of biological significance is the type of linkage (alpha or beta) between repeating monosaccharides units in the polysaccharides. Those polysaccharides consisting of the alpha linked glucose molecules (starch) are much more digestible than those consisting of beta liked glucose molecules (cellulose). Animals that can digest cellulose, the ruminants (cows, goats, sheep) and the termites, contain microorganisms in their digestive tract, which are able to hydrolyze the cellulose to glucose for them. Since man and other animals (flesh-eaters) do not have such microorganisms, they cannot digest cellulose.

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