All sugars are reduced to the simple sugar, glucose, through digestion before being absorbed. Starch and glycogen are complex sugars containing numerous glucose molecules. Plants store in the form of starch, whereas in humans, a limited amount of sugar is stored as glycogen in the liver and in the muscles. Glycogen is depleted during intense muscular activity.
These are divided into four parts:
1. Monosaccharides
Glucose and fructose are simple sugars or monosaccharides and can be found in fruits, berries, vegetables, and honey. Some Monosaccharides are Glucose, Fructose, Galactose.
2. Disaccharides
When two simple sugars combine, they form disaccharides. Table sugar or sucrose is a combination of glucose and fructose and occurs naturally both in sugar beet, sugar cane, and fruits. Lactose is the main sugar in milk and dairy products and maltose is a disaccharide occurring in the malt. Some are
Glucose + Fructose = Sucrose, Glucose + Galactose = Lactose, Glucose + Glucose = Maltose.
3. Oligosaccharides
When 3-9 sugar units combine, they form Oligosaccharides. Maltodextrins contain up to 9 glucose units and are produced commercially by the partial hydrolysis (or breakdown) of starch.
They are less sweet than mono or disaccharides. Raffinose, stachyose, and fructooligosaccharides are found only in small amounts in certain pulses, grains, and vegetables.
4. Polysaccharides
More than 10 and sometimes even up to several thousand sugar units are needed to form polysaccharides. Starch is the main energy reserve in root vegetables and cereals. It comprises of long chains of glucose and occurs as granules whose size and shape vary according to the plant in which it is contained.
Non-starch polysaccharides are the main components of dietary fiber. They include Cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, and gums. Cellulose is the major component of plant cell walls and consists of several thousand glucose units. The separate components of dietary fiber have different physical structures and properties.
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