What does saccharose mean?
Saccharose is a formal name for sucrose, the crystalline substance commonly known as table sugar and obtained chiefly from sugar cane and sugar beets. Chemically, it is a disaccharide, meaning that each molecule consists of two linked monosaccharides: glucose and fructose. When dissolved, saccharose may remain as sucrose, or digestive and food-processing enzymes can separate it into its component sugars, a process associated with the formation of invert sugar. In everyday speech, people rarely use the word saccharose, but it is useful in scientific, pharmaceutical, and food-production contexts where precision matters. It should not be confused with lactose, the distinct sugar found in milk, or with other sweeteners such as glucose and fructose, which can occur separately rather than joined in the saccharose molecule.
nounSaccharose is the chemical name for sucrose, the ordinary white crystalline sugar obtained from sugar cane and sugar beets. It is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose.
- The chemical substance sucrose, especially as a refined crystalline food ingredient.
"The syrup contains saccharose, which the enzyme breaks down into simpler sugars."
"Heat the mixture until the saccharose has dissolved completely."
"Saccharose is broken down during digestion into glucose and fructose."
The plural is rarely needed and is chiefly possible in technical or taxonomic contexts.
"The study compared several forms of crystallized saccharoses."
Saccharose is ordinary table sugar wearing its scientific name—and its molecule delivers one glucose unit and one fructose unit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of saccharose
The word entered English through French saccharose, a derivative of Greek sakchar, meaning sugar. The same Greek root underlies forms such as saccharic, saccharify, and saccharification, all of which refer to sugar or processes involving it. Saccharose ultimately comes through Latin and Arabic from the Greek and reflects the long history of the substance as a sweet substance derived from plants.
Related word forms
How saccharose is actually used
Saccharose is formal and technical, or occasionally used to distinguish the compound in chemical and food-science contexts; everyday English normally says sucrose or sugar.
Easily confused with saccharose
Saccharose and sucrose are two names for the same compound, ordinary sugar consisting of linked glucose and fructose molecules.
Saccharose is the disaccharide found in table sugar, whereas lactose is the sugar naturally present in milk.