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Ch.6 Carbohydrates–Life’s Sweet Molecules
Chapter 3, Problem 89a

ALLIED Health The structure of sucralose, found in the artificial sweetener Splenda, is shown in the figure. It consists of a chlorinated disaccharide made up of galactose and fructose. In its structure shown,
(a) identify the galactose unit and the fructose unit.
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Step 1: Understand the structure of sucralose. Sucralose is a chlorinated disaccharide, meaning it is composed of two sugar units, galactose and fructose, with chlorine atoms replacing some of the hydroxyl groups.
Step 2: Identify the galactose unit. Galactose is a hexose sugar, similar in structure to glucose, but with a different arrangement of hydroxyl groups. Look for a six-membered ring with a specific arrangement of hydroxyl groups that matches galactose.
Step 3: Identify the fructose unit. Fructose is a five-membered ring structure, known as a furanose form, with a ketone group. Look for a five-membered ring with a ketone group and hydroxyl groups that match the structure of fructose.
Step 4: Locate the chlorine atoms. In sucralose, some of the hydroxyl groups in the sugar units are replaced by chlorine atoms. Identify these chlorine substitutions in the structure.
Step 5: Confirm the linkage between the two units. The galactose and fructose units are linked together through a glycosidic bond. Identify this bond to confirm the connection between the two sugar units in sucralose.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Disaccharides

Disaccharides are carbohydrates formed by the combination of two monosaccharides through a glycosidic bond. In the case of sucralose, the disaccharide consists of galactose and fructose. Understanding the structure and properties of disaccharides is essential for identifying their components and their roles in nutrition and food science.
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Galactose

Galactose is a monosaccharide, a simple sugar that is part of the disaccharide lactose and is found in dairy products. It is an aldohexose, meaning it has six carbon atoms and an aldehyde group. Recognizing galactose's structure and its functional groups is crucial for identifying it within larger carbohydrate structures like sucralose.
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Fructose

Fructose is a monosaccharide commonly found in fruits and honey, known for its sweet taste. It is a ketohexose, which means it contains six carbon atoms and a ketone group. Understanding fructose's structure helps in distinguishing it from other sugars and recognizing its role in the formation of disaccharides like sucralose.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

Glycogen and amylopectin are both branched polymers of glucose. Read the descriptions of each in Section 6.6. Which molecule has a more compact structure? Explain.

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Textbook Question

On an exam, a student was asked to draw the Fischer projection of l-glucose, but he had only memorized the structure of d-glucose. He wrote the structure of d-glucose and switched the hydroxyl group on C5 from the right to the left. Was his answer correct? If not, what is the name of the aldose that he drew?

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Textbook Question

Carbohydrates are abbreviated using a three-letter abbreviation followed by their glycosidic bond type. For example, maltose and sucrose can be written respectively as

Glcα (1→4) Glc Glcα (1→2) ßFru

Maltose Sucrose


Provide the structure for the O-type blood carbohydrate set given the following abbreviation:


L-Fucα (1→2) Galß (1→4) GlcNAc

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Textbook Question

ALLIED Health Which of the components in starch is more likely to be broken down more quickly in plants, amylose or amylopectin? Why?

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Textbook Question

How much energy is produced if a person eats 50 g of digestible carbohydrate (not fiber) in a day? In this case, what percent of a 2200 Calorie diet would be digestible carbohydrate? Recall that carbohydrates provide four Calories of energy per gram consumed.

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Textbook Question

Trehalose is a naturally occurring disaccharide used in cosmetics because of its ability to retain moisture. The formal name of trehalose is glucose α, α (1→1) glucose. Draw the structure of trehalose. Is it a reducing or nonreducing sugar?

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