Polysaccharide

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Polysaccharides (; from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús) 'many, much' and σάκχαρ (sákkhar) 'sugar') are "compounds consisting of a large number of monosaccharides linked glycosidically". They are the most abundant carbohydrates in food. Their structures range from linear to highly branched polymers. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen, and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin. The term "glycan" is synonymous with polysaccharide, but often glycans are discussed in the context of glycoconjugates, i.e. hybrids of polysaccharides and proteins or lipids. Polysaccharides are often heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. They may be amorphous (e.g. starch) or insoluble in water (e.g. cellulose). Saccharides are generally composed of simple carbohydrates called monosaccharides with the general formula (CH2O)n where n is three or more. Examples of monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and glyceraldehyde...

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