saccharase

8.8

A protein that breaks table sugar into glucose and fructose

noun
/ˈsækəˌreɪs/

Specialized

: sacarasa

Saccharase catalyzes the conversion of sucrose into glucose and fructose during digestion.

Examples

Saccharase is essential for digesting sucrose in many organisms.
A deficiency in saccharase can lead to problems metabolizing certain sugars.
Scientists studied the activity of saccharase in yeast cultures.
The saccharase enzyme plays a crucial role in digestion.
Many saccharases are found in various fruits.
In humans, saccharase aids in breaking down dietary sugars for absorption.
Research shows that saccharase levels influence how effectively organisms utilize sugar.

Synonyms

glucosidase

vssaccharase

Specialized

1 8.9

A protein that breaks down complex sugars into simple sugars for digestion

targets a single simple disaccharide rather than many complex sugars

disaccharidase

vssaccharase

Specialized

1 9.5

An enzyme that breaks sugars made of two parts into simple sugars

acts only on that one two-sugar molecule producing glucose and fructose

sucrase

vssaccharase

Specialized

1 8.4

A protein in the body that breaks table sugar into two simple sugars

is another widely used name for the same enzyme

invertase

vssaccharase

Specialized

9.9

A substance that turns table sugar into two simple sugars

is an alternative technical name for the same enzyme

Surface Forms

saccharase singular

saccharases plural

Morphology

saccharase = sugar (semi-transparent) = sacchar + ase

Formed from the combining form 'sacchar-' (meaning 'sugar') plus the enzyme suffix '-ase'; the scientific combining form and suffix may be unfamiliar to general learners.

Etymology

Saccharase comes from the root sacchar- meaning 'sugar' and the enzyme ending -ase, the same ending you see in lactase. So saccharase is an enzyme that breaks the sugar sucrose into smaller sugars like glucose and fructose.