One of my
favorite organic molecules is sucrose, which is known as table sugar. I love
this organic molecule, because it occurs naturally in every fruit and
vegetable. It is the major product of photosynthesis from sugarcane and sugar
beets. The basic formula for sucrose is C12H12O11. The glucose and fructose are joined
by an oxygen bridge in the alpha orientation. It contains one six member ring
of glucose and the five member ring of fructose.
The word
sucrose came from the mid-19th century combining the Latin word
sucrum meaning sugar and the chemical suffix -ose. The history of sucrose came
from a story of the army of Alexander the Great. They were halted on the banks
of the river Indus and saw people in the Indian subcontinent growing sugarcane
and making a powder form. Greek soldiers carried this to their mainland,
however, it remained a limited crop. The product increased after the Portuguese
first cultivated sugarcane in Brazil in 1532. The usage of sugar greatly
increased since. It is used in tea, to bake cakes and confectionery, as well as
in chocolate.
How could you not love sucrose??? Originally, I decided to read your post about sucrose because I figured that it'd revolve around candy and sweet things. I didn't expect that it would be so rich in history as well as a chemically interesting structure. Thanks for the interesting read!
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love Sucrose. I mean its sweet. This post was very enlightening it me. I didn't know sugar became popular in the 19th century. I always thought it has been around for much much longer
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