Someone encountered this substance in the learning process, and someone - reading the composition on the product packaging in the store. What is the name of malt sugar in a different way? What is maltose? What is the difference from sucrose (ordinary sugar) known and familiar to everyone in appearance and taste? How sweet is it, and is there any need to fear for your health if maltose is part of the food?
Why is it called when it was first used
Malt sugar has been used in Japan since ancient times, when people still did not know anything about the purposeful process of obtaining it. However, the pleasant sweet taste of the white substance secreted by varieties of millet and rice, containing a large amount of starch, has been noticed for a long time.
Since it is mainly obtained from cereals, the name assigned to it is corresponding to it - maltose (in English, “malt” means “cereal”).
It looks like a way to get
Maltose is obtained from sprouted and dried cereal plants, such as rye, barley, millet, rice, wheat, oats, and corn. It was later found in tomatoes, oranges, yeast and molds, nectar and pollen of certain plant species, honey and a by-product in the production of sugar or starch - molasses.
Malt sugar looks like white powder or crystals that have no color.
It is obtained by natural fermentation of previously germinated, dried and ground cereals.
Taste and application
If we take ordinary sugar as the standard for the degree of sweetness, then this property of maltose will be three times weaker. Therefore, less sweet, more useful, according to many scientists, than fructose and sucrose, easily processed by the human body, maltose is often used for the manufacture of dietary products.
The most frequent use of malt sugar is noted in the production of baby food, mixes for baking and instant cereals, added to the composition of ice cream. Malt syrup is prepared from it, which is used in the manufacture of confectioneries (especially a variety of breads and biscuits) and bakery products. Maltose is also present in kvass and some alcoholic products: beer, whiskey, bourbon.
Malt syrup is produced from malt sugar - a brown syrup with a sweet taste. It is obtained by enzymatic saccharification of starch-containing raw materials, followed by boiling. In the manufacture of chemical catalysts and acids are not used. The syrup has a slight smell of malt. Due to its low glucose content, it does not crystallize over time. The composition of molasses resembles beer or kvass wort.
The use of maltose in the production of molasses made it possible to obtain natural raw materials for baking such popular types of bread as Borodinsky, Riga (dark molasses) and no less than bought confectionery: a variety of gingerbread cookies and cookies (light molasses).
Composition, calorie content, physical properties
The composition of maltose is slightly different depending on what it is made from. Malt sugar is an almost one-hundred-percent carbohydrate that does not contain any proteins or fats.
Its main composition is fiber, some amino acids, vitamins H, E, B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, PP, minerals are iron (Fe), potassium (K), zinc (Zn), phosphorus (P), magnesium ( Mg), silicon (Si), fluorine (F), iodine (I), sodium (Na), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se).
The caloric content of this product is 362 kcal per 100 g.
Anhydrous melting of malt sugar occurs at a temperature of 102 ° C.
The molar mass of the substance is 342.32 g / mol.
The density of the substance is 1.54 g / cm 3 .
It is well soluble in water, but not soluble in ethyl alcohol and ether.
The chemical formula of maltose and the classification of the substance
According to the IUPAC nomenclature (IUPAC - International Union of Theoretical and Applied Chemistry) - a system of names of chemical compounds and a holistic description of chemical science - maltose is called 4-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-D-glucose.
The traditional name is maltose.
Its chemical formula is C 12 H 22 O 11. From it you can see the qualitative and quantitative composition of the substance’s molecule, that is, how many and which atoms are included in this particular compound.
The structural (graphic) formula of maltose more clearly demonstrates how exactly the atoms are interconnected within the molecule.
It is a natural reducing disaccharide - a carbohydrate, consisting of two monosaccharide residues - glucose (C 6 H 12 O 6 ) - interconnected, into which maltose breaks down during hydrolysis, which occurs when the substance is boiled with dilute acid or when the enzyme maltase is exposed.
Monosaccharide molecules are interconnected due to the semi-acetal hydroxyl of one of them and the alcohol hydroxyl of the second.
Effects on the human body
Malt sugar is not included in the list of substances indispensable for the human body. The human body is able to obtain maltose from polysaccharides on its own, therefore, specialists have not identified the general symptoms of its deficiency.
It is produced from starch and glycogen, which is present in the liver and muscles of all mammals.
The malt sugar in the human intestines breaks down into glucose molecules and is easily absorbed, helping the body quickly accumulate energy, which is especially valuable for the brain. Its processing begins at the very beginning of the digestive tract - in the mouth, due to the enzyme contained in saliva - amylase. The splitting of maltose into two glucose residues is impossible without the presence of the enzyme glucosidase in the body, otherwise, maltase.
It happens that maltase is absent or insufficient. This natural feature leads to maltose intolerance. In this case, all products containing this substance must be excluded from the diet.
Most dieticians are of the opinion that malt sugar does not have a harmful effect on the human body, but it is reliably known that the total amount of sugar consumed by healthy people should not exceed 100 grams per day. Maltose can make up to 35 grams of them.