ABSTRACT
Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 158 References .............................................................................................................. 158
Carbohydrates are one of the most abundant and diverse class of organic compounds occurring in nature. Chemically they are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in the ratio Cn:H2n:On. Food carbohydrates include a wide range of macromolecules, which can be classi‘ed according to their chemical structure into three major groups: (1) low-molecular-weight mono-and disaccharides, (2) intermediate molecular weight oligosaccharides, and (3) high-molecular-weight polysaccharides. They can also be classi‘ed as simple or complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are monosaccharides and disaccharides, whereas complex carbohydrates are made up of many monosaccharides such as starches and ‘ber (polysaccharides).
