Sophorose is a
disaccharide
A disaccharide (also called a double sugar or ''biose'') is the sugar formed when two monosaccharides are joined by glycosidic linkage. Like monosaccharides, disaccharides are simple sugars soluble in water. Three common examples are sucrose, ...
, a
dimer of
glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...
. It differs from other glucose dimers such as
maltose
}
Maltose ( or ), also known as maltobiose or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) bond. In the isomer isomaltose, the two glucose molecules are joined with an α(1→6) bond. Maltose is the tw ...
in having an unusual β-1,2 bond. It was isolated in 1938 from pods of ''
Sophora japonica''. It is a component of
sophorolipids A sophorolipid is a surface-active glycolipid compound that can be synthesized by a selected number of non-pathogenic yeast species. They are potential bio-surfactants due to their biodegradability and low eco-toxicity.
Structure and properties
Sop ...
. It is a product of the
caramelization
Caramelization (or caramelisation) is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting butter-like flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: (C24H36O18), (C36H50O25), and ...
of
glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...
.
References
Disaccharides
{{Carbohydrate-stub