Question

Polysaccharide digestion and glycogen breakdown involve sequential cleavage from ________ ends of glucose polymers. A. Ionic B. Non-reducing C. Hydroxyl D. Reducing

Answer 1

non-reducing

Step-by-step explanation:

The end of a polysaccharide where anomeric carbon is involved in the glycosidic linkage is called a non-reducing end. Digestion of polysaccharides and glycogenolysis includes the removal of sugar residues one by one from the non-reducing end.

For instance, glycogenolysis in skeletal muscle and liver includes many enzymes. One such enzyme is glycogen phosphorylase that catalyzes the sequential breaking of alpha 1->4 glycosidic linkage between two glucose residues at a non-reducing end of glycogen. It removes the terminal glucose residue as alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate.