homosaccharide

A homosaccharide is a type of carbohydrate that is composed of only one type of monosaccharide unit. Monosaccharides are simple sugars, the smallest units of carbohydrates that cannot be broken down further by hydrolysis. When multiple identical monosaccharide units are linked together by glycosidic bonds, they form a homosaccharide.

The most common homosaccharides are polysaccharides, which are large polymers. Examples include starch and glycogen, both of which are polymers of glucose. Starch serves as a primary energy storage molecule in plants, while glycogen is the main energy storage form in animals. Cellulose, another glucose polymer, is a major structural component of plant cell walls. Dextran, a polysaccharide made of glucose units, is found in some bacteria and is also used in medical applications.

In contrast to heterosaccharides (also known as heteropolysaccharides), which are composed of more than one type of monosaccharide unit, homosaccharides exhibit a simpler structure due to the uniformity of their building blocks. This structural simplicity influences their physical and chemical properties, such as solubility, digestibility, and biological function. The specific arrangement and linkage of the monosaccharide units are crucial in determining the properties and roles of different homosaccharides.