Some remarks on carbohydrates

Some Remarks on Carbohydrates (with Reference to Sections 2-7) 

The highly polymerised compound cellulose is broken down into its octa-acetyl disaccharide cellobiose by acetolysis (Franchimont, Skraup, Ost). The bioses belong to the important group of glucosides. 

The isomerism of a- and jS-glucose is to be attributed to the spatially different arrangement of the H and OH-groups attached to the asymmetric carbon atom 1. This atom is asymmetric in the cyclic lactol formula (Tollens). The mutarotation of the sugars, i.e. the gradual change to the final stationary value of the optical rotation, is to be explained by an equilibrium occurring in solution between the various 

Corresponding to the two structurally isomeric forms of glucose and other monoses there are also two types of glucosides, each of which exists in two enantiomorphs. All the four ethyl glucosides are known. 

The fundamental principles governing the spatial isomerism of the simple sugars and the theoretical and experimental work of Emil Fischer cannot be dealt with here. Those who are not already familiar with the subject should at once fill this gap in their knowledge they are emphatically advised to use space models. 

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