Maltose Formula

Maltose may be a sort of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are one of the nutrients necessary for our body to properly function. They’re one of the most sources of energy for the body. The composition of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen gives maltose. Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut discovered maltose. This discovery wasn’t widely accepted until it had been confirmed in 1872 by Irish chemist and brewer Cornelius O’Sullivan. During this article, we’ll study the maltose formula and its properties and applications thoroughly alongside the uses of it.

Formula of Maltose

It is that the two-unit member of the amylose homologous series. It’s the key structure of starch. A combination of two glucose units together forms it. And it may be a disaccharide produced when amylase breaks down starch. It’s found in germinating seeds like barley as they break down their starch stores to use for food. Its density is 1.54 g/cm3. The molar mass of maltose is 342.297 g·mol−1. Its freezing point is 160 to 165 °C.

• Chemical Maltose Formula = C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁
• IUPAC name =3R,4R,5S,6R)-6-(hydroxymethyl)-5-{[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy}oxane-2,3,4-triol

The carbohydrates generally divide into groups, namely monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides counting on the number of sugar subunits. It has two sugar units. It’s an oligosaccharide because it consists of two glucose molecules. Glucose may be a hexose and maybe a monosaccharide contains six carbon atoms.

Properties of Maltose

It may be a reducing sugar. The ring of 1 of the 2 glucose units can receptively present a free aldehyde radical. The opposite one cannot open due to the nature of the glycosidic bond. It is often weakened into glucose by the maltase enzyme.

Maltose in solution exhibits mutarotation. We can easily detect it by the Woehlk test or Fearon’s test on methylamine. It’s a sweet taste, but it is merely about 30-60% as sweet as sugar, counting on the concentration. The tenth solution of maltose is 35% as sweet as sucrose.

Preparation of Maltose

Source: www.healthline.com

Production of it is by the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch catalyzed by the enzyme amylase. We can further hydrolyze it by the enzyme maltase to supply two molecules of d-glucose.

In living organisms, the enzyme maltase can do very rapidly. Within the laboratory, heating with a powerful acid for several minutes will produce an equivalent result of maltose.

Uses

It is a superb additive to packaged food including non-alcoholic beverages. Adding it to food increases its time period. The utilization of maltose is often a remedy for dryness. And it is because of the increase in saliva production. It provides energy for the various bodily functions enabling us to perform our day-to-day tasks.

The addition of it to products as a sweetener is another use. Instead, it does inherit use within the malting process of barley, so as to form beer. The starches become maltose during the malting process, which adds sweetness to beer to counteract the bitterness. More importantly, is that the role maltose plays indigestion.

Solved Examples for Maltose Formula

Q] Does maltose react with Fehling’s reagent?

Solution – Yes, maltose reacts with Fehling’s reagent. It undergoes mutarotation at its hemiacetal anomeric center. the method occurs via an open-chain structure containing an aldehyde. The free aldehyde formed by ring-opening can react with Fehling’s solution, so maltose may be a reducing sugar.