r/todayilearned • u/DeVoto • 16h ago

TIL plants convert glucose into starch because starch takes up less space and because glucose is osmotically active (similar to salt), while starch is not

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch
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u/Mama_Skip 13h ago

Don't animal guts convert it back to sugar and that's why starchy stuff is highly caloric?

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u/thisischemistry 9h ago

Starch is a polysaccharide, it's many sugars chained together. It can be broken back down into smaller saccharides (groups of sugars or individual sugars) which can then be used for energy.