Reducing sugarsSugars with a free aldehyde function. All monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose and galactose) have this property and are thus known as reducing sugars. When disaccharides or polysaccharides are formed, the reducing end of a monosaccharide may or may not be involved in the bond.
If the reducing end is not involved, the product will remain a reducing sugar (e.g. maltose, lactose and starch). If the reducing ends of the sugars are joined together, the product is non-reducing (e.g. sucrose and trehalose).
This can be measured using many tests for the residual reducing power. One such test is Fehling's in which reducing sugars have the ability to reduce complex-bound copper II ions in Fehling's solution to copper I oxide. The quantity of reducing sugars present in glucose syrup is used to determine the dextrose equivalent.
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Sweetener Glossary
