1 CANE-SUGAR (C12H22O11)
Just as there are three monosaccharid sugars with six carbon atoms each, so there are three disaccharid sugars which have twelve carbon atoms each. The first of these is cane-sugar. It is commercially made from either sugar-cane or sugar-beets, and is identical in chemical composition from either source.
Cane sugar, when digested in the human body, or by artificial means, combines with water, and forms glucose and levulose, as shown by the following equation:
C12H22O11 + H2O = C6H12O6 + C6H12O6
Cane-sugar + Water = Glucose + Levulose
2 MALTOSE (C12H22O11)
Maltose—how formed
Maltose is the second member of the disaccharid group, and is of the same composition as the other two. Maltose derives its name from malt. It is formed from the starch of grains by a process of digestion which may be performed in the animal body, or by the process of malting. Maltose, like cane-sugar, can be further digested into monosaccharid sugars, but upon such digestion, instead of forming two separate simple sugars, it is wholly converted into glucose.
The reader will now understand the meaning of the terms monosaccharid, disaccharid, and polysaccharid. MONO, which means one, is the simplest form of carbohydrates. Disaccharids (DI, meaning two), split up to form two simple sugars. Polysaccharids (POLY, meaning many) are complex compounds which form many simple sugars.
3 LACTOSE (C12H22O11)
Lactose exists in milk and has the same formula as cane-sugar. Milk contains about five per cent of this sugar.