Cellulose - Hemicellulose

Hemicellulose

Hemicellulose is a polysaccharide related to cellulose that comprises about 20% of the biomass of most plants. In contrast to cellulose, hemicellulose is derived from several sugars in addition to glucose, especially xylose but also including mannose, galactose, rhamnose, and arabinose. Hemicellulose consists of shorter chains – around 200 sugar units. Furthermore, hemicellulose is branched, whereas cellulose is unbranched.

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