Page 12 - Ebook Digestive System Grade XI

Monosaccharides (C6H12O6) are very

carbohydrates simple and has one sugar cluster. The

taste is sweet and quite easily soluble in water. This

type of carbohydrate can be found in the form of
glucose, fructose, galactose and manose. Under

normal circumstances, a person's blood contains

from 70 to 100 mg of glucose per 100 ml. When the
level of glucose in a person's blood is higher than the

state normally, the person may develop Figure 2. Food sources contains
carbohydrates

hyperglycemia. Meanwhile, if the glucose level is
lower, a person can experience hypoglycemia.

The second type of carbohydrate is disaccharides. Disaccharides
(C12H22O11)n is a carbohydrate that has two sugar groups. Like monosaccharides,
disaccharides also taste sweet and are readily soluble in water. Examples include
sucrose, lactose, and maltose. Sucrose is a combination of glucose and fructose.
Lactose is a composite of glucose and galactose. At the same time, maltose is a
combination of glucose and glucose.
In addition to these two types of carbohydrates, there is another type of
carbohydrate, polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are carbohydrates that have more
than 10 sugar groups. Some of these types of large carbohydrates have no taste. If
there is, it doesn't taste delightful. In addition, polysaccharides are difficult to
dissolve in water. Examples are starch (amylum), glycogen, cellulose, pectin,
lignin, and chitin composed of tens, hundreds, and up to thousands of sugar
clusters.

Figure 3. Classification of carbohydrates
Every 1 gram of carbohydrates contains 4.1 calories. The staple food
derived from rice, kettle, corn, sago, wheat, and tubers are sources of

3