Sucrose

Description

Sucrose is a disaccharide, or two-part molecule, formed by linking the monosaccharide sugars glucose and fructose. It is a nonreducing sugar, in contrast to the two sugars produced by the inversion reaction.

Chemical properties

White or almost white, crystalline powder, or lustrous, colourless or white or almost white crystals.

Chemical properties

Sucrose is a sugar obtained from sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum Linne' (Fam. Gramineae)), sugar beet (Beta vulgaris Linne' (Fam. Chenopodiaceae)), and other sources. It contains no added substances. Sucrose occurs as colorless crystals, as crystalline masses or blocks, or as a white crystalline powder; it is odorless and has a sweet taste.

History

Sucrose is the white granulated compound referred to as sugar. Sucrose is a disaccharide made of glucose and fructose. The main sources of sucrose for the production of commercial sugar are sugarcane and sugar beets. Sugarcane is a tall perennial grass of the genus Saccharum native to Southeast Asia and the South Pacifi c. It has been consumed by chewing the stalk in areas where it grows for thousands of years. Sugarcane spread to India where it was processed to extract crude sugar as early as 2,500 years ago. Persian invaders discovered sugar after invading India and the plant and sugar production spread into the Middle East around 600 c.e. Europeans were introduced to sugar around 1100 c.e. when the first crusaders returned with knowledge of the sweet spice and the Arab Empire spread into Spain.
The use of sugar beet to obtain sugar began when the German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (1709 1782) extracted sucrose from sugar beets using alcohol. The amount of sucrose obtained by Marggraf did not warrant commercial use of beets as a sucrose source. During the late 18th century, Franz Karl Archard (1753 1821), a student of Marggraf, selectively bred beets to increase the sucrose content to 5 6% and developed a commercial method to extract sucrose.
Sucrose is predominantly associated with the food industry, but it does have industrial uses in other areas. Sucrose fatty acid esters are a mixture of mono, di, and tri esters of sucrose with fatty acids. Th ese are use in cosmetics, shampoos, resins, inks, paper processing, and pesticides. Sucrose benzoate is used as an emulsifi er and in nail polishes. Sucrose has also been used in making glues and treating leather.

The Uses of Sucrose

Sucrose is a sweetener that is the disaccharide sucrose, consisting of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose. It is obtained as cane or beet sugar. It has relatively constant solubility and is a universal sweetener because of its intense sweetness and solubility. It is available in various forms which include granulated, brown, and powdered. It is used in desserts, beverages, cakes, ice cream, icings, cereals, and baked goods. It is also termed beet sugar, cane sugar, and saccharose.

Background

A nonreducing disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose linked via their anomeric carbons. It is obtained commercially from sugarcane, sugar beet (beta vulgaris), and other plants and used extensively as a food and a sweetener.

Definition

ChEBI: Sucrose is a disaccharide formed by glucose and fructose units joined by an acetal oxygen bridge from hemiacetal of glucose to the hemiketal of the fructose.

Production Methods

Sucrose is obtained from the sugar cane plant, which contains 15–20% sucrose, and sugar beet, which contains 10–17% sucrose. Juice from these sources is heated to coagulate water-soluble proteins, which are removed by skimming. The resultant solution is then decolorized with an ion-exchange resin or charcoal and concentrated. Upon cooling, sucrose crystallizes out. The remaining solution is concentrated again and yields more sucrose, brown sugar, and molasses.

Definition

saccharose: A sugar comprising onemolecule of glucose linked to a fructosemolecule. It occurs widely inplants and is particularly abundant insugar cane and sugar beet (15–20%),from which it is extracted andrefied for table sugar. If heated to200°C, sucrose becomes caramel.

General Description

White odorless crystalline or powdery solid. Denser than water.

Air & Water Reactions

Water soluble. Sugar dust explosion is possibility.

Reactivity Profile

D(+)-Sucrose is a reducing agent. Can react explosively with oxidizing agents such as chlorates and perchlorates. Is hydrolyzed by dilute acids and by invertase (a yeast enzyme) . Chars rapidly and exothermically when mixed with concentrated sulfuric acid.

Hazard

Dental erosion. Questionable carcinogen.

Agricultural Uses

Sucrose is obtained from sugar beet, sugar cane and sweet sorghum. Sucrose, glucose and fructose all exhibit optical activity. When sucrose is hydrolyzed, the rotation changes from right to left. This is called inversion, and an equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose is called invert sugar. The enzyme invertase hydrolyzes sucrose to glucose and fructose.

Sugar occurs universally throughout the plant kingdom in fruits, seeds, flowers and roots.

Pharmaceutical Applications

Sucrose is widely used in oral pharmaceutical formulations. Sucrose syrup, containing 50–67% w/w sucrose, is used in tableting as a binding agent for wet granulation. In the powdered form, sucrose serves as a dry binder (2–20% w/w) or as a bulking agent and sweetener in chewable tablets and lozenges. Tablets that contain large amounts of sucrose may harden to give poor disintegration.
Sucrose syrups are used as tablet-coating agents at concentrations between 50% and 67% w/w. With higher concentrations, partial inversion of sucrose occurs, which makes sugar coating difficult.
Sucrose syrups are also widely used as vehicles in oral liquiddosage forms to enhance palatability or to increase viscosity.(4,5) Sucrose has been used as a diluent in freeze-dried protein products.
Sucrose is also widely used in foods and confectionery, and therapeutically in sugar pastes that are used to promote wound healing.

Safety Profile

Mildly toxic by ingestion. An experimental teratogen. Mutation data reported. Vigorous reaction with nitric acid or sulfuric acid (forms carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide). When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes.

Safety

Sucrose is hydrolyzed in the small intestine by the enzyme sucrase to yield dextrose and fructose, which are then absorbed. When administered intravenously, sucrose is excreted unchanged in the urine.
Although sucrose is very widely used in foods and pharmaceutical formulations, sucrose consumption is a cause of concern and should be monitored in patients with diabetes mellitus or other metabolic sugar intolerance.
Sucrose is also considered to be more cariogenic than other carbohydrates since it is more easily converted to dental plaque. For this reason, its use in oral pharmaceutical formulations is declining. Although sucrose has been associated with obesity, renal damage, and a number of other diseases, conclusive evidence linking sucrose intake with some diseases could not be established.( 13,14) It was, however, recommended that sucrose intake in the diet should be reduced.
LD50 (mouse, IP): 14 g/kg
LD50 (rat, oral): 29.7 g/kg

Sucrose Application

Sucrose is used in pharmaceuticals as a flavor, as a preservative, as an antioxidant (in the form of invert sugar), as a demulcent, as substitute for glycerol, as granulation agent and excipient for tablets, as coating for tablets. In the plastics and cellulose industry, in rigid polyurethane foams, manufacture of ink and of transparent soaps.

Metabolism

Not Available

Storage

Sucrose has good stability at room temperature and at moderate relative humidity. It absorbs up to 1% moisture, which is released upon heating at 90°C. Sucrose caramelizes when heated to temperatures above 160°C. Dilute sucrose solutions are liable to fermentation by microorganisms but resist decomposition at higher concentrations, e.g. above 60% w/w concentration. Aqueous solutions may be sterilized by autoclaving or filtration.
When sucrose is used as a base for medicated confectionery, the cooking process, at temperatures rising from 110 to 145℃, causes some inversion to form dextrose and fructose (invert sugar). The fructose imparts stickiness to confectionery but prevents cloudiness due to graining. Inversion is accelerated particularly at temperatures above 130°C and by the presence of acids.

Purification Methods

Crystallise D(+)-sucrose from water (solubility: 1g in 0.5mL H2O at 20o, 1g in 0.2mL in boiling H2O). It is soluble in EtOH (0.6%) and MeOH (1%). Sucrose diacetate hexaisobutyrate is purified by melting and, while molten, treated with NaHCO3 and charcoal, then filtered. [Beilstein 17/8 V 399.]

Incompatibilities

Powdered sucrose may be contaminated with traces of heavy metals, which can lead to incompatibility with active ingredients, e.g. ascorbic acid. Sucrose may also be contaminated with sulfite from the refining process. With high sulfite content, color changes can occur in sugar-coated tablets; for certain colors used in sugarcoating the maximum limit for sulfite content, calculated as sulfur, is 1 ppm. In the presence of dilute or concentrated acids, sucrose is hydrolyzed or inverted to dextrose and fructose (invert sugar). Sucrose may attack aluminum closures.

Regulatory Status

GRAS listed. Included in the FDA Inactive Ingredients Database (injections; oral capsules, solutions, syrups, and tablets; topical preparations). Included in nonparenteral and parenteral medicines licensed in the UK. Included in the Canadian List of Acceptable Non-medicinal Ingredients.