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Question : Give information regarding structural organization and functions of polysaccharides ?

Answer»

Solution :The acid insoluble pellet also has polysaccharides (carbohydrates) as another class of macromolecules.
Polysaccharides are long chains of sugars. They are threads (literally a cotton thread) containing different monosaccharides as building blocks.
Cellulose is a polymeric POLYSACCHARIDE CONSISTING of only one type of monosaccharide i.e., glucose. Cellulose is a homopolymer.
Starch is a variant from cellulose but present as a store house of energy in plant tissues.
Animals have another polysaccharide glycogen.

Inulin is a polymer of fructose.
* In a polysaccharide chain (glycogen), the right END is CALLED the reducing end, and the left end is called the non-reducing end.
Starch forms helical secondary structures starch can HOLD I2 molecules in the helical portion. The starch-`I_2` is blue in colour.
Cellulose does not contain complex helices and hence cannot hold `I_2`.
* Plant cell walls are made of cellulose. Paper made from plant pulp and cotton fibre is cellulosic.
*There are more complex polysaccharides in nature. They have as building blocks, amino-sugars and chemically modified sugars (e.g., glucosamine, N-acetyl galactosamine, etc.).
* Exoskeletons of arthropods, have a complex polysaccharide called chitin. These complex polysaccharides are heteropolymers.


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