Question
Question: Amylopectin is a polymer of: (A) \(\beta \) D glucose (B) \(\alpha \) D glucose (C) \(\beta \)...
Amylopectin is a polymer of:
(A) β D glucose
(B) α D glucose
(C) β D fructose
(D) α D fructose
Solution
Hint:
Amylopectin is a water soluble polysaccharide and highly branched polymer. It is one of the two components of starch, the other being amylose. Glucose units are linked in a linear way with α glycosidic bonds.
Complete step by step answer:
Starch is a colorless and odorless polysaccharide that is found in plants as stored carbohydrates. It is a polymer of glucose monomers that are linked with each other to form polysaccharide. It is composed of two types of polysaccharide molecules:
A. Amylose
B. Amylopectin
Now, we will discuss amylopectin.
Amylopectin is a polymer of several D-glucose molecules. 80% of amylopectin is present in starch.
Further, the amylopectin molecules are linked by α1,4-glycosidic bonds and α1,6− glycosidic bonds. When iodine is added to starch, it gives reddish-brown appearance due to the presence of amylopectin. It readily dissolves in hot water.
Hence, option B is correct.
Note: Polysaccharides are large molecules that feature high molecular weights and contain hundreds of glucose units joined by β glycosidic bonds between C-1 and C-4 sites of adjacent sugars. The most important polysaccharides are cellulose, starch and glycogen.