Question

Give one example for a complex polysaccharide having amino sugars.

Answer 1

Amino sugars are components of structural polysaccharides and of glycosphingolipids of membranes. N-Acetylmuramic acid, a constituent of a bacterial cell wall polysaccharide, has a lactyl side chain linked to C3 of glucosamine through an ether linkage. The polysaccharide is a polymer of alternating N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine residues linked in a β(1 → 4) glycosidic bond. Lysozyme (also called muramidase) catalyzes the hydrolysis of these bonds. The polysaccharide chains are cross-linked through short peptide chains, and the overall structure is known as a peptidoglycan. N-Acetylneuraminic acid, known as sialic acid, is a derivative of a ketonanose. It occurs in the oligosaccharide side chains ofsome glycoproteins and in gangliosides, both of which are constituents of cell membranes