ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the chemistry of carbohydrates relevant to animal nutrition. In nutrition, carbohydrates are classified into five groups: monosaccharides; disaccharides; oligosaccharides; polysaccharides; and conjugated carbohydrates. The latter substances are covalently bound to lipids or proteins to form glycolipids or glycoproteins, respectively. Polysaccharides are subdivided into homopolysaccharides and heteropolysaccharides. Heteropolysaccharides include: exudate gums, hemicelluloses, inulins, mannans, mucilages, and pectins in plants; hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfates, dermatan sulfate, heparan sulfate, heparin sulfate, keratan sulfate, and chitin in animals; LPSs, murein, and xanthan in microbes; and agar, algin, and carrageenans in algae and seaweeds. Monosaccharides undergo chemical reactions, such as epimerization, reduction, oxidation, dehydration, formation of glycosides, esterification, and glycation, whereas starch or glycogen, but not other complex carbohydrates, can bind to and react with iodine to form a colored product. These reactions provide the bases for the determination of certain types of carbohydrates in feedstuffs and animals.
