A monosaccharide is the simplest form of carbohydrates, consisting of a single sugar molecule that cannot be hydrolyzed into smaller sugar units. They serve as fundamental building blocks for more complex carbohydrates and are crucial for energy metabolism in living organisms.
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Large carbohydrate molecules made up of ten or more monosaccharide units joined together through glycosidic linkages, functioning as storage forms of energy or structural components in cells.
Glycosidic linkage: A type of covalent bond that joins a carbohydrate (sugar) molecule to another molecule, which can be another carbohydrate or a different type of molecule altogether, critical in forming di- and polysaccharides from monosaccharides