ARTS AND SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

QUALITATIVE TESTS FOR

CARBOHYDRATES
Experiment 8
MC-2 LAB
OBJECTIVES of the Experiment

❏ Perform the different tests for different types of carbohydrates

❏ Understand the principle behind each test and its purpose
❏ Identify the unknown carbohydrate based on the results of the
tests
CARBOHYDRATES

❏ Carbohydrates are biomolecules that is compose of carbon, hydrogen and

oxygen atoms whose functional group can either be aldehyde or ketone.

❏ It can be classified into monosaccharide, the monomer unit of

carbohydrates, disaccharide if two monosaccharides are joined,
oligosaccharide if few monosaccharides are joined or polysaccharide if it
is already composed of large number of monosaccharides.
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO MONOMER UNITS
❏ MONOSACCHARIDES – simple sugars that could not be hydrolyzed further
into smaller units.

❏ SAMPLES: Ribose, Fructose, Galactose, Glucose

 CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO MONOMER UNITS
❏ DISACCHARIDES –a sugar that has two monosaccharide units.

❏ SAMPLES: Sucrose, Lactose, Maltose

Images retrieved at: https://alevelbiology.co.uk/notes/disaccharides/

 CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO MONOMER UNITS
❏ POLYSACCHARIDES – a sugar that has two monosaccharide units.

❏ SAMPLES: Starch and Glycogen

https://microbenotes.com/carbohydrates/
 CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FUNCTIONAL GROUPS

❏ ALDOSES – contain
aldehyde functional
group

❏ SAMPLES: Ribose,
Glucose, Galactose

https://microbenotes.com/carbohydrates/
 CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FUNCTIONAL GROUPS

❏ KETOSES – contain ketone functional group

❏ SAMPLES: Fructose

https://microbenotes.com/carbohydrates/
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF CARBONS
IN A CYCLIC FORM
❏ PYRANOSE – is a six-
membered cyclic ring

❏ SAMPLES: Glucose, Galactose

❏ FURANOSE – is a five-
membered cyclic ring

❏ SAMPLES: Ribose, Fructose

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO REDOX REACTIONS

❏ Reducing Sugar – can act as

reducing agent. It has free
anomeric carbon

❏ SAMPLES: All monosaccharides,

maltose and lactose
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO REDOX REACTIONS
❏ Nonreducing Sugar – cannot act as reducing agent. It has NO free
anomeric carbon

❏ SAMPLES: Sucrose, starch, glycogen

MOORE’s Test

❑ Test for reducing sugars

❑ Principle: Reducing sugar undergoes aldol condensation

(caramelization reaction) under alkaline/basic conditions because of the
free anomeric carbon
❑ positive for: ribose, glucose, fructose, lactose

❑ negative for: glycogen, sucrose and starch

❑ Positive Result: Caramel odor and brown-yellowish colored complex

❑ other positive results: yellow/orange/dark brown + caramel odor
THEORETICAL RESULTS

RIBOSE, GLUCOSE,
SUCROSE, GLYCOGEN,
SAMPLES GALACTOSE, FRUCTOSE,
STARCH
LACTOSE

RESULTS Positive Negative

Barfoed’s Test
❑ Test for monosaccharide

❑ Principle: Strong reducing sugars like monosaccharides are oxidized by copper

ion in acetic acid solution to carboxylic acid and form Cu2O precipitate within 3
minutes
❑ Reducing disaccharides undergo same

reaction but at slower rate

❑ Positive Result – Brick red ppt

THEORETICAL RESULTS

RIBOSE, GLUCOSE,
LACTOSE, SUCROSE,
SAMPLES GALACTOSE,
GLYCOGEN, STARCH
FRUCTOSE

RESULTS Positive Negative

Seliwanoff’s test

❑ Test for ketoses

❑ Principle: HCl + resorcinol dehydrates

ketoses react faster to give colored
products

❑ Positive result : Bright cherry red with

Ketohexose (such as fructose) and
disaccharides containing a ketohexose
(such as sucrose)
❑ Aldohexose give pale pink color

that takes a longer time to develop

❑ Other sugars (e.g. aldose) may

produce yellow to faint pink colors

THEORETICAL RESULTS

RIBOSE, GALACTOSE,
SUCROSE and GLUCOSE,GLYCOGEN,
SAMPLES
FRUCTOSE STARCH

RESULTS Positive Negative

IODINE TEST

❑ Test for polysaccharide - starch

and glycogen

❑ Principle: Iodine does not react

with other carbohydrates that
are not coiled, and remains
yellowish brown.

❑ The Amylose in starch is

responsible for the formation of a
deep blue color in the presence of
iodine. The iodine molecule slips
inside of the amylose coil causing
an intense blue-black color.
❑ Glycogen, has a slightly different
structure than does starch where it has
branches via α-1,6-glycosidic bonds,
and produces only an intermediate color
reaction, which is reddish brown.

❑ Positive result :

blue-black for starch

reddish-brown for glycogen

❏ Negative result: Yellow or yellowish

brown
THEORETICAL RESULTS

STARCH, RIBOSE, GLUCOSE,

SAMPLES
GLYCOGEN GALACTOSE, FRUCTOSE,
LACTOSE
Starch: Blue-black
RESULTS Glycogen: Reddish- Negative
brown
BENEDICT’S test
❑ Test for Reducing Sugars

❑ Reagents – Copper sulfate, Sodium carbonate, Sodium citrate

❑ Copper sulfate in Benedict's solution reacts with free ketone/ aldehyde

group of reducing sugar to form yellowish orange or red ppt.

❑Positive Results are precipitates

with the following colors:
❑ Green

❑ Yellow

❑ Orange

❑ Red precipitate

❑ Sample: URINE