Cellulose

prefLabel
  • cellulose
definition
  • The main polysaccharide in living plants, forming the skeletal structure of the plant cell wall; a polymer of beta-D-glucose linked together with the elimination of water to form chains of 2000-4000 units.
related
inScheme
broader
Abstract from DBPedia
    Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fiber is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%. Cellulose is mainly used to produce paperboard and paper. Smaller quantities are converted into a wide variety of derivative products such as cellophane and rayon. Conversion of cellulose from energy crops into biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol is under development as a renewable fuel source. Cellulose for industrial use is mainly obtained from wood pulp and cotton. Some animals, particularly ruminants and termites, can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms that live in their guts, such as Trichonympha. In human nutrition, cellulose is a non-digestible constituent of insoluble dietary fiber, acting as a hydrophilic bulking agent for feces and potentially aiding in defecation.

    セルロース(英: cellulose)とは、分子式 (C6H10O5)n で表される炭水化物(多糖類)である。植物細胞の細胞壁および植物繊維の主成分で、天然の植物質の1/3を占め、地球上で最も多く存在する炭水化物である。繊維素(せんいそ)とも呼ばれる。自然状態においてはヘミセルロースやリグニンと結合して存在するが、綿はそのほとんどがセルロースである。 セルロースは多数のβ-グルコース分子がグリコシド結合により直鎖状に重合した天然に存在する高分子で、いわゆるベータグルカンの1種である。構成単位であるグルコースとは異なる性質を示す。

    (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Cellulose)