Can You Define The Structure And Function Of Disaccharides?

These carbohydrates consist of two monosaccharide molecules joined together by an oxygen atom (an ether functional group).

The joining of two glucose molecules produces maltose (malt sugar), found in sprouting grains and malt. It is used in formula for infant feeding as well as other beverages.
Sucrose (table sugar) is commercially the most important of the disaccharides. It is obtained in commercial quantities from sugar cane (cane sugar) and sugar beet (beet sugar).

The sweetness of all other sweetening agents is compared to the sweetness of sucrose, which is arbitrary given a value of 100 on the scale of relative sweetness.

Large amounts of sucrose are consumed all around the world, especially in countries such as the Sudan, Egypt and Libya to name a few. In these countries tea is taken frequently with plenty of sucrose. Many physicians believe that large amounts of sugar increase the risk of disease conditions including diabetes mellitus. Sucrose also causes dental caries, tooth decay.

On hydrolysis, in the presence of an enzyme (invertase or sucrase) , sucrose yields equal amounts of glucose and fructose. The mixture of glucose and fructose is called invert sugar.

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