Amylopectin

All you want to know about Amylopectin

Amylopectin

Identifiers
CAS number	9037-22-3
EINECS number	232-911-6
Properties
Molecular formula	variable
Molar mass	variable
Appearance	white powder
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox references

Amylopectin is a highly branched polymer of glucose found in plants. It is one of the two components of starch, the other being amylose. It is soluble in water.

Glucose units are linked in a linear way with α(1→4) bonds. Branching takes place with α(1→6) bonds occurring every 24 to 30 glucose units.

Its counterpart in animals is glycogen which has the same composition and structure, but with more extensive branching that occurs every 8 to 12 glucose units.

Plants store starch within specialized organelles called amyloplasts. When energy is needed for cell work, the plant hydrolyzes the starch releasing the glucose subunits. Humans and other animals that eat plant foods also have enzymes to hydrolyze starch.

Starch is made of about 70% amylopectin by weight. Amylopectin is highly branched, being formed of 2,000 to 200,000 glucose units. Its inner chains are formed of 20-24 glucose subunits.

Trioses	Ketotriose (Dihydroxyacetone) · Aldotriose (Glyceraldehyde)

Tetroses	Ketotetrose (Erythrulose) · Aldotetroses (Erythrose, Threose)

Pentoses	Ketopentose (Ribulose, Xylulose) Aldopentose (Ribose, Arabinose, Xylose, Lyxose) Deoxy sugar (Deoxyribose)

Hexoses	Ketohexose (Psicose, Fructose, Sorbose, Tagatose) Aldohexose (Allose, Altrose, Glucose, Mannose, Gulose, Idose, Galactose, Talose) Deoxy sugar (Fucose, Fuculose, Rhamnose)

Heptose	Sedoheptulose

Multiple

Disaccharides	Sucrose · Lactose · Maltose · Trehalose · Turanose · Cellobiose

Trisaccharides	Raffinose · Melezitose · Maltotriose

Tetrasaccharides	Acarbose · Stachyose

Other oligosaccharides	Fructooligosaccharide (FOS) · Galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) · Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS)

Polysaccharide	Glucose: Glycogen · Starch (Amylose, Amylopectin) · Cellulose · Dextrin · Glucan (Beta-glucan) Fructose: Fructan (Inulin, Levan beta 2→6) N-Acetylglucosamine: Chitin