Polysaccharides

POLYSACCHARIDES
  • Polysaccharides are polymers of simple sugars covalently linked by glycosidic bonds.
  • They function mainly as nutritional sugar stores and as structural materials. Cellulose and starch are abundant components of plants.
  • Both are glucose polymers but differ in the way the glucose monomers are linked.
  • Cellulose is a linear polymer of glucose with beta (1 -4) linkages. Starch is a sugar store and it contains two components a amylose, a linear polymer with alpha (1-4) linkages and amylopectin, a branched polymer with  alpha (1-6) linkages.
Last modified: Tuesday, 13 September 2011, 6:57 AM