CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Monosaccharides have two special chemical properties

(i) Reducing Nature.

• All the monosaccharides are reducing sugars.
• It can reduce Cu2+ (cupric form) to Cu+ (cuprous state) in Benedict's or Fehling's test.
• The test is used to detect glucose in urine.

(ii) Glycosidic Bond.

• It is a bond established between two monosaccharides (C - O - C).
• The bonds join monosaccharides to form complex carbohydrates.
• Nucleoside is produced by forming an N-glycosidic bond between a monosaccharide and a nitrogen base.
• Glycosidic bonds are of two types,

- C - O - C -

and

- C - N - C -