DISCUSSION ABOUT REDUCING SUGAR

Test tube Subtances+ Reagent Observation(before) Observation (after)

I Glucose+Benedict Blue Brick-red
Reagent
II Peanut + Benedict Blue Light green
reagent

Benedict's reagent
It is a complex mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium citrate and copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.It is
used to detect the presence of reducing sugars. The presence of other reducing substances also
gives a positive reaction.Such tests that use this reagent are called the Benedict's tests. A positive
test with Benedict's reagent is shown by a color change from clear blue to a brick-red precipitate.

Generally, Benedict's test detects the presence of aldehydes and alpha-hydroxy-ketones, also
by hemiacetal, including those that occur in certain ketoses. Thus, although the ketose fructose is
not strictly a reducing sugar, it is an alpha-hydroxy-ketone, and gives a positive test because it is
converted to the aldoses glucose and mannose by the base in the reagent.
The principle of Benedict's test is that when reducing sugars are heated in the presence of an alkali
they are converted to powerful reducing species known as enediols. Enediols reduce the cupric
compounds (Cu2+) present in the Benedict's reagent to cuprous compounds (Cu+) which
are precipitated as insoluble red copper(I) oxide(Cu2O).
The color of the obtained precipitate gives an idea about the quantity of sugar present in the
solution, hence the test is semi-quantitative. A greenish precipitate indicates about 0.5 g%
concentration; yellow precipitate indicates 1 g% concentration; orange indicates 1.5 g% and red
indicates 2 g% or higher concentration.
Benedict's Test for non-reducing Sugars is a test which determines the presence of non-
reducing sugars in a test solution.

The principal reagent in Benedict's Test for Reducing Sugars is Benedict's Solution which
contains

 copper(II) sulphate
 sodium carbonate
 sodium citrate

What are non-reducing sugars?

Non-reducing sugars are sugars which do not have an aldehyde functional group - the
reducing species. As non-reducing sugars do not have the aldehyde group, they cannot reduce
copper (I) (blue) to the copper(II) (red).
Discussion about reducing sugar test.

From the test that had been carried on, to detect the present of reducing sugar we use Benedict’s
reagent to undergo Benedict’s Test. Benedict reagent is a complex mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium
citrate and copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate. It is used to detect the presence of reducing sugars.
Reducing sugars is any sugar that is capable of acting as a reducing agent because it has a free aldehyde
group or a free ketone group. For example glucose, fructose and galactose. Positive test with Benedict's
reagent is shown by a color change from clear blue to a brick-red precipitate. From the observation in
test tube I ( Glucose + Benedict’s reagent), the observation shown is a positive result. This was
happened because Benedict's solution is used to test for reducing sugars (free aldehyde group)as stated
above. The aldehyde gets oxidised and in the process, reduces the Cu2+(which gives Benedict's solution
its blue colour) found in the complex to form copper(I) oxide, Cu2O.