Saccharose

Saccharose, commonly known as sucrose or table sugar, is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose. It has a wide range of uses across various industries:

### 1. **Food and Beverage Industry**
   - **Sweetener**: Saccharose is widely used as a natural sweetener in baked goods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice cream, and candies.
   - **Preservative**: Due to its ability to absorb moisture, it helps in preserving jams, jellies, and syrups by inhibiting microbial growth.
   - **Flavor Enhancer**: It balances flavors in sauces, dressings, and marinades.
   - **Fermentation Substrate**: Saccharose is often used in brewing beer, producing alcohol, and making fermented foods.

### 2. **Pharmaceutical Industry**
   - **Excipient**: In pharmaceuticals, saccharose acts as a bulking agent and sweetener in tablets, syrups, and lozenges.
   - **Coating**: It is used to coat pills and capsules to mask the bitterness of the active ingredients.

### 3. **Cosmetics Industry**
   - **Humectant**: Saccharose helps to retain moisture in skincare products, like lotions and creams.
   - **Exfoliant**: Sugar scrubs are popular for their mild exfoliating properties.

### 4. **Chemical Industry**
   - **Raw Material**: It can be converted into other chemicals, such as ethanol or citric acid, through fermentation processes.
   - **Plasticizer**: Sucrose derivatives can be used in biodegradable plastics and biopolymers.

### 5. **Biofuel Production**
   - **Ethanol**: Saccharose can be fermented to produce ethanol, a key biofuel ingredient.

Its versatility makes saccharose a staple across many industries.