Difference Between Amylose and Amylopectin

Ans. They together make starch that is the stored energy in plants, which is consumed by animals and humans as a form of food. They help in supplying energy to the living creatures.

Ans. 

Ans. Amylopectin is easier to digest as it has shorter chains against Amylose’s long linear chains that get crystallized before complete digestion would take place.

Ans. It is used in the plastic industries, film making, paper pulp fibre bonding, and permanent textile industry. Even used as a binding agent in food products.

Ans. The carbohydrates are stored in the animal body as glycogen. It is also called animal starch and its structure is similar to amylopectin which means that it is a branched-chain polymer of α-D-glucose units in which the chain is formed by C1 – C4 glycosidic linkage whereas branching occurs by the formation of C1– C6 glycosidic linkage. One main difference between glycogen and amylopectin is the length of the chain. In amylopectin, the chain consists of 20 – 25 α – D – glucose molecules whereas in glycogen, there are 10 -14 molecules of α – D – glucose present. Glycogen is more branched than amylopectin. It is present mainly in the liver, muscles and also in the brain. Glycogen gets converted into glucose when the body needs it with the help of certain enzymes present in the body. Glycogen has also been found to be present in yeast and fungi.

Starch is a major source of carbohydrates which are very much essential to the human body since they supply energy to the body. It occurs as granules mainly in seeds, fruits, tubers and also in the roots of the plants. The chief commercial sources of starch are wheat, maize, rice, potatoes etc.

Ans. Yes, humans can easily digest Amylopectin due to the enzymes called Amylase.

Ans. Starch consists of amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is a linear polymer of α-D-glucose while cellulose is a linear polymer of β -D- glucose. In amylose, C -1 of one glucose unit is connected to C – 4 of the other through α-glycosidic linkage. However, in cellulose, C – 1 of one glucose unit is connected to C-4 of the other through β – glycosidic linkage. Amylopectin on the other hand has a highly branched structure.

Ans. It is found in the duodenum, mouth, oesophagus, and small intestine before getting digested.

Ans. Sucrose is called invert sugar. The sugar obtained from sugar beet is a colourless, crystalline and sweet substance. It is very soluble in water and its aqueous solution is dextrorotatory having [α]D = + 66.5°. On hydrolysis with dilute acids or enzyme invertase, cane sugar gives an equimolar mixture of D-(+)-glucose and D-(-)-fructose.

So, sucrose is dextrorotatory but after hydrolysis gives dextrorotatory glucose and laevorotatory fructose. D-(-)-fructose has a greater specific rotation than D-(+)-glucose. Therefore, the resultant solution upon hydrolysis is laevorotatory in nature with a specific rotation of (-39.9°). Since there is a change in the sign of rotation from Dextro before hydrolysis to leave after hydrolysis, the reaction is called inversion reaction and the mixture (glucose and fructose) is called invert sugar.

Ans. In the α -helix structure of the protein, a polypeptide chain is stabilized by the formation of intramolecular H-bonding between -NH- group of amino acids in one turn with the >C = O groups of amino acids belonging to adjacent turn.