Question

What are the classes of carbohydrates?

Answer 1

Carbohydrates are classified as mono-, di-, oligo-, and polysaccharides.

Explanation:

Monosaccharides

Monosaccharides are carbohydrates that cannot be hydrolyzed to give simpler sugars.

Common examples are glucose and fructose.

Disaccharides

Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides joined together.

Common examples are sucrose, maltose, and lactose.

Oligosaccharides

Carbohydrates containing 3 to 9 monosaccharide units are classed as oligosaccharides (oligo = "a few").

Examples are raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose.

They can also be called tri, tetra-, and pentasaccharides according to the numbers of monosaccharide units they contain.

Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides contain more than 10 monosaccharide units.

Examples are starch, glycogen, and cellulose.