Carbohydrate | Definition, Classification, & Examples - Britannica

Classification and nomenclature

Although a number of classification schemes have been devised for carbohydrates, the division into four major groups—monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides—used here is among the most common. Most monosaccharides, or simple sugars, are found in grapes, other fruits, and honey. Although they can contain from three to nine carbon atoms, the most common representatives consist of five or six joined together to form a chainlike molecule. Three of the most important simple sugars—glucose (also known as dextrose, grape sugar, and corn sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and galactose—have the same molecular formula, (C6H12O6), but, because their atoms have different structural arrangements, the sugars have different characteristics; i.e., they are isomers.

Slight changes in structural arrangements are detectable by living things and influence the biological significance of isomeric compounds. It is known, for example, that the degree of sweetness of various sugars differs according to the arrangement of the hydroxyl groups (―OH) that compose part of the molecular structure. A direct correlation that may exist between taste and any specific structural arrangement, however, has not yet been established; that is, it is not yet possible to predict the taste of a sugar by knowing its specific structural arrangement. The energy in the chemical bonds of glucose indirectly supplies most living things with a major part of the energy that is necessary for them to carry on their activities. Galactose, which is rarely found as a simple sugar, is usually combined with other simple sugars in order to form larger molecules.

Two molecules of a simple sugar that are linked to each other form a disaccharide, or double sugar. The disaccharide sucrose, or table sugar, consists of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose; the most familiar sources of sucrose are sugar beets and cane sugar. Milk sugar, or lactose, and maltose are also disaccharides. Before the energy in disaccharides can be utilized by living things, the molecules must be broken down into their respective monosaccharides. Oligosaccharides, which consist of three to six monosaccharide units, are rather infrequently found in natural sources, although a few plant derivatives have been identified.

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Polysaccharides (the term means many sugars) represent most of the structural and energy-reserve carbohydrates found in nature. Large molecules that may consist of as many as 10,000 monosaccharide units linked together, polysaccharides vary considerably in size, in structural complexity, and in sugar content; several hundred distinct types have thus far been identified. Cellulose, the principal structural component of plants, is a complex polysaccharide comprising many glucose units linked together; it is the most common polysaccharide. The starch found in plants and the glycogen found in animals also are complex glucose polysaccharides. Starch (from the Old English word stercan, meaning “to stiffen”) is found mostly in seeds, roots, and stems, where it is stored as an available energy source for plants. Plant starch may be processed into foods such as bread, or it may be consumed directly—as in potatoes, for instance. Glycogen, which consists of branching chains of glucose molecules, is formed in the liver and muscles of higher animals and is stored as an energy source.

The generic nomenclature ending for the monosaccharides is -ose; thus, the term pentose (pent = five) is used for monosaccharides containing five carbon atoms, and hexose (hex = six) is used for those containing six. In addition, because the monosaccharides contain a chemically reactive group that is either an aldehyde group or a keto group, they are frequently referred to as aldopentoses or ketopentoses or aldohexoses or ketohexoses. The aldehyde group can occur at position 1 of an aldopentose, and the keto group can occur at a further position (e.g., 2) within a ketohexose. Glucose is an aldohexose—i.e., it contains six carbon atoms, and the chemically reactive group is an aldehyde group.

Key People: Emil Fischer Fraser Stoddart Gustav Georg Embden Sir Norman Haworth Luis Federico Leloir (Show more) Related Topics: polysaccharide monosaccharide paramylon mutarotation mucilage (Show more) On the Web: University of Southern Queensland - Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology - Carbohydrates (Jan. 23, 2026) (Show more) See all related content