Sugars: Monosaccharides and

Oligosaccharides
 Sweetness of sugars
Index of Sweetness
Sucrose = 1 or in some literature 100
 Effect of temperature on Sweetness

Increase in temperature, decrease in sugar

sweetness
 Molischs Test
General Test for carbohydrate materials
Procedure: Using 2 ml of test solution in a test tube, add
2 drops of 1% 1-naphthol, mix and then allow 2 ml of
conc. Sulphuric acid to flow down the side of the inclined
tube to layer under the mixture. Note the colour at the
junction.

Purple
interface
 Tollens test
Test to determine aldehyde grp
(+) formation of silver mirror
 Seliwanoff Test
Test for Differentiation of Ketose from Aldose
Procedure: Add 0.5 ml of the test solution to 2.5 ml of the
Seliwanoffs reagent. Place the tubes in boiling water and
note the results and continue heating, observe the colour
change at after 1 minute.

(+) cherry red for ketoses;

sucrose also gives (+) result
 Iodine Test
Test for Starch
Procedure: Add a drop of dil. HCl to 1 ml test solution to
acidify the solution. Add few drops of iodine solution.
Record the colours observed. Gently warm the solution
and then cool it. Note he change.
Formation of
blue, starch-
iodine
complex
 Fehlings Test
Test for Monosaccharides and Oligosaccharides,
Reducing sugars
Procedure: Using 0.5 ml of test solution, mix with
2.0 ml of Fehlings solution in a test tube and heat the
mixture. Red precipitate indicates the presence of
reducing sugar.
 Benedicts Test
Test for Monosaccharides and Oligosaccharides
Procedure: Using 0.5 ml of test solution, mix with 5 ml
of Benedicts reagent in a test tube and heat the mixture.
Appearance of red precipitate indicate the presence of
reducing sugar.
 Barfoeds Test
Test to distinguished Monosaccharides from
Oligosaccharides
Procedure: To 2 ml of a sample solution is placed in a test
tube. 2 ml of Barfoed's reagent is added. The solution is
then heated in a boiling water bath for three minutes.

(+) brick red

precipitate for
samples with
monosaccharides
 RCHO + 2Cu2+ + 2H2O RCOOH + Cu2O +
4H+
 Reducing sugars
All monosaccharides are reducing sugars
Sucrose is a non-reducing sugars; hence, the
negative result in Benedict and Fehlings test
 Bials Test
Distinguishes pentoses from hexoses
Bial's reagent consists of 0.4g orcinol, 200 ml
of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 0.5 ml
of a 10% solution of ferric chloride. Furfural
from pentoses gives a blue color. The related
hydrozymethylfurfural from hexoses may give a
muddy-brown or gray solution, but this is
easily distinguishable from the green color of
pentoses.
Bials test
(+)

Test to
distinguished
pentoses from
ketoses
(+) formation of
blue solution;
blue green
(-) brown solution
 Sugars as Humectant
Humectants are additives that binds water and
controls water activity of food
Humectants keeps food moist thereby
maintaining the texture of foods, while
keeping the water activity low to avoid
microbial spoilage
 Hydrolysis of Disaccharides
Upon hydrolysis, sucrose gives (+) result in
Benedicts test due to cleavage of glycosidic
linkage between glucose and fructose
Hydrolysis produces invert sugars, which are
important in candy making
 Caramelization
Browning reaction that occurs when sugars
are heated above its melting point