Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 27, 2026

Melibiose

Melibiose is a reducing disaccharide formed by an α-1,6 linkage between galactose and glucose. It differs from lactose in the chirality of the carbon where the galactose ring is closed and that the galactose is linked to a different point on the glucose moiety. It can be formed by invertase-mediated hydrolysis of raffinose, which produces melibiose and fructose. Melibiose can be broken down into its component saccharides, glucose and galactose, by the enzyme alpha-galactosidase, such as MEL1 from Saccharomyces pastorianus.

Last revised
Jun 27, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
250 w
Citations
3
Source
Melibiose
source ↗
Names
IUPAC names
α-D-Galactopyranosyl-(1→6)-D-glucopyranose
6-O-α-D-Galactopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranose
Systematic IUPAC name
(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-6-[[(2S,3R,4S,5R,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxymethyl]oxane-2,3,4,5-tetrol
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.008.700
MeSH Melibiose
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C12H22O11/c13-1-3-5(14)8(17)10(19)12(23-3)21-2-4-6(15)7(16)9(18)11(20)22-4/h3-20H,1-2H2/t3-,4-,5+,6-,7+,8+,9-,10-,11-,12+/m1/s1
    Key: DLRVVLDZNNYCBX-ZZFZYMBESA-N
  • C([C@@H]1[C@@H]([C@@H]([C@H]([C@H](O1)OC[C@@H]2[C@H]([C@@H]([C@H]([C@@H](O2)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O
Properties
C12H22O11
Molar mass 342.297 g·mol−1
Melting point 84–85 °C (183–185 °F; 357–358 K)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Melibiose is a reducing disaccharide formed by an α-1,6 linkage between galactose and glucose (D-Gal-(α1→6)-D-Glc).12 It differs from lactose in the chirality of the carbon where the galactose ring is closed and that the galactose is linked to a different point on the glucose moiety. It can be formed by invertase-mediated hydrolysis of raffinose, which produces melibiose and fructose. Melibiose can be broken down into its component saccharides, glucose and galactose, by the enzyme alpha-galactosidase, such as MEL1 from Saccharomyces pastorianus (lager yeast).

Melibiose cannot be used by Saccharomyces cerevisiae3 (ale yeast), so this is one test to differentiate between the two yeast species.

References

References

  1. Thisbe K. Lindhorst (2007). Essentials of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry (1 ed.). Wiley-VCH. ISBN 978-3527315284.
  2. John F. Robyt (1997). Essentials of Carbohydrate Chemistry (1 ed.). Springer. ISBN 0387949518.
  3. Bokulicha. Nicholas A. & Bamforth. Charles W. (1 June 2013). "The Microbiology of Malting and Brewing". American Society for Microbiology. pp. 157–172. Retrieved 2 May 2015.