Galactan (galactosan) is a

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

consisting of polymerized

galactose Galactose (, ''wikt:galacto-, galacto-'' + ''wikt:-ose#Suffix 2, -ose'', ), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweetness, sweet as glucose, and about 65% as sweet as sucrose. It is an aldohexose and a C-4 epime ...

. In general, galactans in natural sources contain a core of galactose units connected by α(1→3) or α(1→6), with structures containing other

monosaccharide Monosaccharides (from Greek '' monos'': single, '' sacchar'': sugar), also called simple sugars, are the simplest forms of sugar and the most basic units (monomers) from which all carbohydrates are built. Chemically, monosaccharides are polyhy ...

s as side-chains. Galactan derived from '' Anogeissus latifolia'' is primarily α(1→6), but galactan from

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

trees is primarily α(1→3). '' Halymenia durvillei'' is a red seaweed (algae) that produces a sulfated galactan. Several other algae species also contain galactans. Including '' Carpopeltis . Galactan is found in the side chains of rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) and is needed for gel formation in the cell walls of organisms. It was observed there was less of the gelling characteristic (as well as the polymeric chains being more likely to degrade) when fewer galactans were present in the polymeric side chains.

References

{{Carbohydrates Carbohydrates

See also

References