Other disaccharides, such as sucrose and lactose are broken down by
Why can't lactase break down sucrose?
Lactase can be purchased in pill form by people who are lactose intolerant. These people lack the enzyme, lactase, and cannot break down the sugar lactose into its component parts. Although lactose is similar to sucrose, lactase will break down only lactose because of the shape of the sugar.
Can lactase cleave sucrose?
Like maltose and sucrose, it is cleaved at the brush border of the small intestine, and the monosaccharide fragments are absorbed and passed along to the liver. The enzyme that accomplishes the cleavage is lactase or, more precisely, β-galactosidase.
