CHAPTER 7: Maltose Chemistry and Biochemistry
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Published:23 Oct 2012
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R. R. Crow, S. Kumar, and M. F. Varela, in Dietary Sugars: Chemistry, Analysis, Function and Effects, ed. V. R. Preedy, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2012, pp. 101-114.
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Maltose is disaccharide sugar found to occur naturally in vegetables, fruits, and grains. The sugar maltose is useful in industry as a starting source for alcoholic beverages. Medically, maltose is involved in sugar metabolite malabsorption disorders. The biosynthetic and degradative pathways for the metabolism of maltose have been elucidated in a variety of organisms. Living organisms, from bacteria to humans, have evolved several classes of homologous transport systems for the cellular uptake of maltose, serving as useful model systems for the study of maltose biochemistry in higher organisms, such as humans. Mutations in several sugar transporter systems have conferred enhanced transport of maltose across the biological membrane. In short, the sugar maltose will continue to be an important molecule in many scientific disciplines.