Maltose is a ______ from ______

• A. polysaccharide; glucose and glucose
• B. disaccharide; fructose and glucose
• C. disaccharide; glucose and galactose
• D. disaccharide; glucose and glucose

Answer: (D)

Maltose is a disaccharide made from two glucose units linked together. This means it’s not a long polymer like a polysaccharide (which would be starch or glycogen), and it’s not formed from different monosaccharides like fructose and glucose (which would be sucrose) or glucose and galactose (which would be lactose). The two glucose molecules in maltose are connected by an α-1,4 glycosidic bond, and maltose is produced when starch is broken down. It can be hydrolyzed by maltase to yield two free glucose molecules for absorption.