CHAPTER 9: Sucrose Chemistry
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Published:23 Oct 2012
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L. M. Moreira, J. P. Lyon, P. Lima, V. J. S. V. Santos, and F. V. Santos, in Dietary Sugars: Chemistry, Analysis, Function and Effects, ed. V. R. Preedy, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2012, pp. 138-149.
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Sucrose, which is usually known as “table sugar”, is a carbohydrate that is the most abundant organic molecule produced at the industrial scale from renewable sources, and it is widely employed in the world of nutrition. Sucrose is a disaccharide formed by glycosidic ligation between two monosaccharides: glucose and fructose molecules with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Carbohydrates constitute the main source of energy for life, and sucrose is a fundamental food for human nutrition. Indeed, sucrose is one of the most important components in the food industry. In this context, it is important to note the relevant role of inverted sugar, a mixture of glucose and fructose that is obtained by splitting the glycosidic bond of sucrose. Sugestão para remoção Sucrose is an extraordinarily nutritious constituent of a great number of foods. However, its ingestion is a public health problem associated with diabetes, obesity and other chronic healthy difficulties that has motivated studies on this highly relevant carbohydrate. Furthermore, there are several aspects related to the structure-function relationship of carbohydrates with a special emphasis on the sucrose structure, which remains unresolved. In fact, the tendency of carbohydrates to form isomers is an interesting structural property that significantly affects their activities. Thus, research studies focused on sucrose chemistry and the employment of “sugar substitutes” in the food industry are necessary for the improvement of general health conditions for the world's population.