ABSTRACT
Carbohydrates include monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides as well as substances derived from them by various reactions such as reduction, oxidation, esterification, etc. Monosaccharides are the basic units from which all carbohydrates are built. Linking of monosaccharides via glycosidic bonds leads to the formation of oligosaccharides (2 to 20 monomers) and polysaccharides (more than 20 monomers). The term “sugars” is often used to refer to the monosaccharides and some disaccharides (e.g., sucrose). Polysaccharides are grouped into two major classes: (1) simple polysaccharides, which contain only monosaccharides and their derivatives (esters and ethers), and (2) conjugate polymers made up of a polysaccharide linked to another polymer, such as polypeptide. It is the purpose of this chapter to focus on the physical properties of simple carbohydrates and associated characterization techniques that are important to food sciences.
