ABSTRACT
Most hydrocolloids are polysaccharides, that is, polymers of simple sugars. Together, sugars and polysaccharides make up the family known as carbohydrates, so named because the ratio of their hydrogen content to their oxygen content is about 2:1. In general, sugars are classified as aldoses or ketoses, depending on whether the real or potential carbonyl group present is an aldehyde or ketone. Further classification is made according to the number of carbon atoms. Thus, fructose, a 6-carbon sugar containing a ketone group, is known as a ketohexose; glucose, having an aldehyde group, is an aldohexose. The properties of a polysaccharide are determined by both the composition of the polysaccharide and the spatial structure of its basic units. Carbohydrates react in a number of ways using several types of bonds. The attraction between positively charged hydrogen and negative oxygen can result in hydrogen bonds. Water molecules may or may not be involved.
