Mono- Di- and Polysaccharides: Starches Sugars Cellulose
[caption id="attachment_24172" align="alignright" width="480"] This Giant Sequoia stands tall thanks to Cellulose. – Image by Tripastute[/caption] Carbon appears to be unique in its immense chemical diversity. So much so, that an entire branch is devoted to its chemical behavior – organic chemistry. Yet, the name given to this branch of chemistry indicates something of more importance than its being just another branch among many. Organic chemistry began as the chemistry of living things, the chemistry of all things organic. There are literally millions of carbon compounds incorporated into organic chemistry. The group we will consider here is the saccharides. Some among these consist of multiple saccharide units joined together. Hence, they are termed polysaccharides. What is a Saccharide? The word “saccharide” is derived from the Latin sacchararum, “meaning full of…