A * carbohydrate composed of between two and ten polymerized monosaccharide units. Most oligosaccharides contain two (disaccharides), three (trisaccharides) or four (tetrasaccharides) sugar units. The most important plant sugar, * sucrose, is a disaccharide. * Cellobiose is another common disaccharide, being the basic repeating unit of cellulose. Other disaccharides include trehalose and gentiobiose. The commonest trisaccharide is * raffinose and the commonest tetrasaccharide * stachyose. Oligosaccharides may be intermediates in polysaccharide metabolism or may serve as storage compounds. |
