What is "amylose"

Amylose \Am`y*lose"\, n. (Chem.) One of the starch group (C6H10O5)n of the carbohydrates; as, starch, arabin, dextrin, cellulose, etc.

n. (context carbohydrate English) The soluble form of starch (the insoluble form being amylopectin) that is a linear polymer of glucose.

Amylose is a helical polymer made of α-D- glucose units, bound to each other through α(1→4) glycosidic bonds.

This polysaccharide is one of the two components of starch, making up approximately 20-30% of the structure. The other component is amylopectin, which makes up 70–80% of the structure.

Because of its tightly packed structure, amylose is more resistant to digestion than other starch molecules and is therefore an important form of resistant starch, which has been found to be an effective prebiotic.