Raffinose

Raffinose is a trisaccharide composed of galactose, glucose, and fructose. Plants store it in seeds and other tissues, and intestinal bacteria can ferment it.

Galactose: A six-carbon monosaccharide that occurs in foods and forms part of lactose and other carbohydrates. Its galactose unit is attached to sucrose to form raffinose.
Alpha-galactosidase: An enzyme that hydrolyzes alpha-linked galactose residues from carbohydrates. Microbes use this enzyme to remove raffinose’s terminal galactose.
Seed desiccation tolerance: The ability of seeds to survive drying while remaining capable of germination. Raffinose-family sugars accumulate in many seeds and are associated with protection during drying.
Stachyose: A tetrasaccharide composed of two galactose units, one glucose, and one fructose. It resembles raffinose but contains one additional galactose unit.
Sucrose: A disaccharide of glucose and fructose commonly known as table sugar. Raffinose consists of a galactose unit joined to sucrose.
Human digestive system: The organs and processes that break down food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate waste. It lacks an enzyme that cleaves raffinose’s alpha-galactosidic bond.
Raffinose family oligosaccharides: Plant oligosaccharides that include raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose. Raffinose is the simplest member of this plant carbohydrate family.
Verbascose: A pentasaccharide in the raffinose family containing three galactose units, glucose, and fructose. It is a larger raffinose-family sugar with two more galactose units.
Glucose: A six-carbon monosaccharide used by cells as a major energy source. One of raffinose’s three constituent sugars.
Gut microbiota: The community of microorganisms living in the digestive tracts of humans and other animals. Colonic microbes ferment raffinose that escapes digestion in the small intestine.

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