disaccharidase
Definition
- Noun:
- An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of disaccharides into monosaccharides: A disaccharidase is a type of digestive enzyme that breaks down disaccharides (double sugars like sucrose, lactose, and maltose) into their simpler, absorbable components, which are monosaccharides (single sugars like glucose, fructose, and galactose).
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Lactase is a common disaccharidase found in the small intestine.
- A deficiency in certain disaccharidases can lead to digestive problems like lactose intolerance.
- The enzyme sucrase is a disaccharidase that breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose.
Advanced Usage
- Scientific Context: In biochemistry and medicine, "disaccharidase" is used to refer to specific enzymes (e.g., lactase, sucrase-isomaltase, maltase) whose activity is often measured in diagnostic tests for malabsorption syndromes.
- The biopsy revealed severely reduced disaccharidase activity in the intestinal lining.
Variants and Related Words
- Disaccharide (n): A sugar composed of two monosaccharide molecules. Disaccharidases act upon these.
- Sucrose, a disaccharide, is broken down by the disaccharidase sucrase.
- Monosaccharide (n): A simple sugar that is the product of disaccharidase activity.
- Glucose is a monosaccharide absorbed after disaccharidase digestion.
Synonyms
- Carbohydrase: A broader class of enzymes that break down carbohydrates, which includes disaccharidases.
- Digestive enzyme: A general term for enzymes that aid digestion, under which disaccharidases are categorized.
Related Phrases / Compound Terms
- Disaccharidase deficiency: A medical condition characterized by insufficient activity of one or more disaccharidase enzymes.
- Congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency is a type of disaccharidase deficiency.
- Brush-border disaccharidase: Refers to disaccharidase enzymes located on the microvilli of the small intestine's epithelial cells.
- Brush-border disaccharidases are crucial for the final stage of carbohydrate digestion.
Noun
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an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of disaccharides into monosaccharides
