Determination of rate/ extent of hydrolysis of sucrose/starch

The hydrolysis of sucrose and starch involves the breakdown of complex carbohydrates into simpler sugars through chemical or enzymatic reactions. Sucrose, a disaccharide, undergoes acid-catalyzed hydrolysis to yield glucose and fructose, while starch, a polysaccharide, breaks down into maltose and glucose through enzymatic action using amylase. Sucrose hydrolysis, also called inversion, can be achieved using dilute acids such as hydrochloric acid. The process produces an equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose, known as invert sugar. Monitoring this reaction is essential for industries where the sweetness and chemical stability of syrups are critical. Starch is hydrolyzed enzymatically using α-amylase, which cleaves the α-1,4 glycosidic bonds present in the amylose and amylopectin chains. The extent of hydrolysis can be determined by quantifying the reducing sugars produced during the reaction using Fehling’s solution. This process is critical in food, brewing, and bioethanol industries. Fehling’s solution is used to quantify reducing sugars in a sample. The reduction of copper(II) ions to copper(I) oxide forms a red precipitate, indicating the presence of reducing sugars. The titration results allow for calculating the amount of reducing sugars, which correlates with the extent of hydrolysis. The experiment aims to determine the hydrolysis rate and extent by analyzing the reducing sugars in hydrolyzed sucrose and starch samples, providing insights into enzymatic efficiency and reaction kinetics.