SHEET /vs/sucrose-vs-fructose · COMPARISON
Sucrose vs Fructose: what is the difference?
How they differ
Sucrose is not an alternative to fructose, it is half made of it: one glucose joined to one fructose through a bond that the enzyme sucrase splits in the small intestine. The weights show it, 342.3 for sucrose against 180.16 for fructose, roughly double minus the water lost when the two joined. Sucrose is the reference point for the entire sweetness scale, defined as exactly 1, and fructose is meaningfully sweeter than that. Once swallowed, sucrose is taken apart within minutes, so the difference between eating table sugar and eating its two halves separately is smaller than it looks. Where it does show up is in the mouth: fructose reads sweeter per gram, which is why syrups made from it go further.
Side by side
| Sucrose | Fructose | |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | C12H22O11 | C6H12O6 |
| Molecular weight | 342.3 g/mol | 180.16 g/mol |
| Family | Sugars | Sugars |
| Everyday group | Sweetener | Sweetener |
| Functional groups | Alcohols, Ethers | Alcohols, Ketones |
| Oral LD50A single acute animal measure. It ranks nothing about human safety. | 29,700 mg/kg (oral, rat) | not recorded |
| Sweetness | 1x sugar | not recorded |
| Found in | Tabletop Sweetener, Table Sugar, Fruit, Honey, Chocolate, Breakfast cereal, Soft drinks, Tonic water, Citrus, Whipped cream | Table sugar, Honey, Fruit |
| CAS number | 57-50-1 | 30237-26-4 |
| PubChem CID | 5988 | 5984 |
Common questions
- What is the difference between Sucrose and Fructose?
- Sucrose is not an alternative to fructose, it is half made of it: one glucose joined to one fructose through a bond that the enzyme sucrase splits in the small intestine. The weights show it, 342.3 for sucrose against 180.16 for fructose, roughly double minus the water lost when the two joined. Sucrose is the reference point for the entire sweetness scale, defined as exactly 1, and fructose is meaningfully sweeter than that.
- Is Sucrose bigger than Fructose?
- Sucrose is the heavier molecule, 342.3 g/mol against 180.16 g/mol for Fructose. Sucrose is C12H22O11 and Fructose is C6H12O6.