Classification of carbohydrate: Carbohydrate can be divided into three main divisions:
1. Monosaccharide: Monosaccharide is that carbohydrate which cannot be broken down into simple carbohydrate by hydrolysis.
Example-
(i) Triose; example: Glycerin, Di-hydroxy acetone etc
(ii) Tetrose; e.g.- Oxaloacetic acid
(iii) Pentose- e.g.- Ribulose-5 phosphate, Ribose etc.
(iv) Hexose- e.g.- Glucose, Fructose etc.
2. Oligosaccharide: Oligosaccharide is that carbohydrate which can be broken down into more than one simple carbohydrate usually two to six by hydrolysis.
(i) Disaccharide- The carbohydrate which is made of two monosaccharide is said to be disaccharide.
(ii) Trisaccharide: Trisaccharide consists of three Monosaccharide.
3. Polysaccharide: The carbohydrate having higher molecular weight, which can be broken down into many monosaccharide by hydrolysis is said to be the polysaccharide.
Example:
(i) Starch
(ii) Cellulose
(iii) Glycogen
