Cellulose
The structural polysaccharide of plant cell walls, a linear polymer of beta-linked glucose.
Formula / equation
(C₆H₁₀O₅)ₙ
Unit
Dimensionless
In depth
The beta-1,4 linkage makes alternate glucose units flip over, producing straight chains that pack into hydrogen-bonded microfibrils of great tensile strength. Humans lack the enzyme to break that linkage, so cellulose passes through as dietary fibre.
Examples in the real world
Cotton is almost pure cellulose; wood, paper and dietary fibre; ruminants digest it using gut bacteria.