Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Hemicellulose
A hemicellulose can be any of several heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides ) present in almost all cell walls along with cellulose.
Their molecular weights are usually lower than that of cellulose and they have a weak undifferentiated structure compared to crystalline cellulose. But the chains form a 'ground' - they bind with pectin to cellulose to form a network of cross-linked fibres.
Hemicelluloses include xylan , glucuronoxylan , arabinoxylan , glucomannan , and xyloglucan .
As percent content of hemicellulose increases in animal feed the voluntary feed intake decreases.
10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details