General Veterinary Biochemistry

LACTOSE

• Lactose is a disaccharide found in milk. On hydrolysis, it yields one molecule each of β- D- galactose and D-glucose.
• It possesses a β(1  4) linkage in which C 1 of galactose is linked to the OH group attached on the carbon 4 of the glucose through O –glycosidic bond.
• It is a reducing sugar (the anomeric hydroxyl group of glucose is free) and can undergo mutarotation.
• Lactase is the enzyme that hydrolyses lactose in the system and its production decreases as the age increases.