CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

invert sugar    →   invertni šećer

Invert sugar is a mixture of equal parts of glucose and fructose resulting from the hydrolysis of sucrose (saccharose). The name stemming from the fact that it rotates of plane polarized light in the opposite direction of sucrose. Sucrose is dextrorotatory - it rotates polarized light clockwise ([α]_D = +66.5°). Invert sugar rotates the plane of the polarized light counterclockwise ([α]_D = -22°) due to the strongly levorotatory nature of fructose ([α]_D = -92°).

Homemade artificial honey (invert sugar syrup): Dissolve two parts of household sugar (1 kg) with stirring in one part of water (0.5 kg) in a saucepan over low heat. Add 1 g of citric acid or the juice of one lemon to the mixture. Bring the ingredients to a slow boil. It can take anywhere between 15 minutes to 1 hour. The end result is sticky, golden syrup. Let it sit at room temperature until it is cool.

sugar    →   šećer

Sugar is any of a group of water-soluble carbohydrates of relatively low molecular weight and typically having a sweet taste. The group comprises mainly monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose), disaccharides (sucrose, lactose, maltose), and trisaccharides (raffinose). Many monosaccharides and disaccharides fairly commonly found in nature bear names reflecting the source from which they were first isolated. For example, glucose is also known as grape sugar, lactose as milk sugar, and maltose as malt sugar. In everyday usage, the name is often used to refer specifically to sucrose (table sugar, cane sugar, beet sugar).

invertase    →   invertaza

Invertase (sucrase, saccharase, beta-fructofuranosidase) is an enzyme present in yeast and in the intestinal juice of animals that catalyze the hydrolysis of table sugar (sucrose, saccharose) to the simple sugars, glucose and fructose. This equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose is called invert sugar.

artificial honey    →   umjetni med

Artificial honey is the old synonym for invert sugar syrup.

sucrose    →   saharoza

Sucrose (saccharose), or ordinary table sugar, is a disaccharide in which α-D-glucopyranose and β-D-fructofuranose are joined at their anomeric carbons by a glycosidic bond. There are no hemiacetals remaining in the sucrose and therefore sucrose is not a reducing sugar and does not exhibit mutarotation. Sugar is a white crystalline sweet compound found in many plants and extracted from sugar cane and sugar beet. It is used as a sweetening agent in food and drinks. If heated to 200 °C, sucrose becomes caramel. When sucrose is hydrolyzed it forms an equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose. This mixture of monosaccharides is called invert sugar. Honeybees have enzymes called invertases that catalyze the hydrolysis of sucrose. Honey, in fact, is primarily a mixture of glucose, fructose, and sucrose.

agar    →   agar

Agar, also called agar-agar, is an extract of certain species of red algae (of the Gelidium and Gracilaria genera) that is used as a gelling agent in microbiological culture media, foodstuffs, medicine, and cosmetic. The predominant component of agar is agarose, a polysaccharide made up of subunits of the sugar galactose.

aglycon    →   aglikon

Aglycon (aglycone) is the non-sugar compound remaining after replacement of the glycosyl group from a glycoside by a hydrogen atom. The link between the glycon and aglycon is known as glycosidic bond.

anomer    →   anomer

Anomers are diastereoisomers of cyclic forms of sugars or similar molecules differing in the configuration at the anomeric carbon (C-1 atom of an aldose or the C-2 atom of a 2-ketose). The cyclic forms of carbohydrates can exist in two forms, α- and β- based on the position of the substituent at the anomeric center. Anomer are designated α if the configuration at the anomeric carbon is the same as that at the reference asymmetric carbon in a Fischer projection. If the configuration differs the anomer is designated β. For example, α-D-glucopyranose and β-D-glucopyranose, the two cyclic forms of glucose, are anomers.

barometer    →   barometar

Barometer is an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure. A mercury barometer is a closed tube filled with mercury inverted in a mercury reservoir. The height of the mercury column indicates atmospheric pressure (with 1 atm = 760 mm of mercury). An aneroid barometer consists of an evacuated container with a flexible wall. When atmospheric pressure changes, the wall flexes and moves a pointer which indicates the changing pressure on a scale.

caramel    →   karamel

Caramel is a dark brown substance made from sugar, used to colour and flavour food, added to some liqueur as a colouring agent.