saccharo-, sacchari-, sacchar- +

(Greek > Latin: sugar; originally from Sanskrit, "gravel, grit")

disaccharide
A sugar; such as, sucrose, which is made up of two monosaccharides: one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule.

Two common disaccharides are sucrose and lactose.

fructooligosaccharide
A naturally occurring fructan sugar used as a prebiotic in petfoods.

It acts like a fiber, passing undigested to the large intestine where it is extensively fermented by colonic bacteria.

heteropolysaccharides
The complex carbohydrates formed by combining carbohydrates with noncarbohydrates or carbohydrate derivatives; examples include pectin, lignin, glycoproteins, glycolipids, and mucopolysaccharides.
homopolysaccharides
The complex carbohydrates formed from at least six identical monosaccharides; examples include starch, glycogen, cellulose, and insulin.
lipopolysaccharide
Any of a group of polysaccharides in which a lipid constitutes a portion of the molecule.
monosaccharide
1. A simple sugar; such as, glucose or fructose that cannot be broken down into simpler sugars.
2. Any of several carbohydrates; such as, tetroses, pentoses, and hexoses, that can not be broken down to simpler sugars by hydrolysis. Also called simple sugar.
3. The component unit of an oligosaccharide (a carbohydrate that consists of a relatively small number of monosaccharides) or polysaccharide (a class of carbohydrates; such as, starch and cellulose, consisting of a number of monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds).

See carbo- for more details about carbohydrates.

mucopolysaccharides
Long chains of sugar molecules that are found throughout the body, often in mucus and in fluid around the joints.

They are more commonly called glycosaminoglycans.

When the body cannot break down mucopolysaccharides, a condition called mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) occurs.

Mucopolysaccharidoses refers to a group of inherited disorders of metabolism. People with MPS do not have any, or enough, of a substance (enzyme) needed to break down the sugar molecule chains.

oligosaccharide
A carbohydrate that on hydrolysis consists of a relatively small number of monosaccharides.
polysaccharide
1. A complex carbohydrate such as starch or cellulose made up of sugar molecules linked into a branched or chain structure.
2. A carbohydrate that yields many monosaccharides when subjected to hydrolysis.
3. Any of a class of carbohydrates formed by repeating units linked together by glycosidic bonds.

A polysaccharide usually contains five or more monosachharide subunits, joined to each other by glycoside links. Glycogen and starch are examples.

saccharide (s), saccarides (pl)
1. A sweet-tasting, water-soluble carbohydrate based on a ring of four or five carbon atoms and one oxygen atom.

An essential structural component of living cells and source of energy for animals which includes simple sugars with small molecules as well as macromolecular substances that are classified according to the number of monosaccharide groups they contain.

2. Saccharides are classified as monosaccharides, disaccharides, trisaccharides, and polysaccharides according to the number of monosaccharide groups composing them.
sacchariferous
1. Containing or yielding sugar.
2. Producing sugar; such as, sacchariferous canes.
saccharify
To convert starch or cellulose or other polysaccharides into sugar.
saccharimeter
1. An instrument used to measure the concentration of sugar in a solution; for example, a polarimeter.

A polarimeter is an instrument used to measure the rotation of the plane of polarization of light as it passes through a substance; especially, a liquid or solution. It is an important tool in the analysis of sugar solutions.

2. An instrument that determines the concentration of sugar in a fermenting solution from carbon dioxide measurements.
saccharin
A white crystalline compound that is several hundred times sweeter than sugar which is used as a sugar substitute.
saccharine or sugar
1. Of, pertaining to or of the nature of sugar;.
2. Characteristic of sugar; sugary.
3. Composed chiefly of sugar; of a plant, containing a large proportion of sugar.
4. With reference to urine, containing sugar in excess of what is normal.