Lactose, known as milk sugar, consists of b-D-galactose and b-D-glucose units with a linkage between C₁ of galactose and C₄ of glucose. Lactose exhibits reducing properties as a free aldehyde group may be produced at C-1 of the glucose unit.

Maltose is composed of two a-D-glucose units, linked from C₁ of one glucose to C₄ of another. It shows reducing properties due to the free aldehyde group produced at C₁ of the second glucose unit.

Sucrose is dextrorotatory, but its hydrolysis produces dextrorotatory glucose and laevorotatory fructose. The mixture, known as invert sugar, is laevorotatory due to fructose’s higher laevorotation.

Sucrose undergoes hydrolysis to yield an equimolar mixture of D-(+)-glucose and D-(-) fructose. The glycosidic linkage is between C₁ of a-D-glucose and C₂ of b-D-fructose, involving the reducing groups and making sucrose a non-reducing sugar.

In disaccharides, reducing sugars have free aldehydic or ketonic groups, such as maltose and lactose. Non-reducing sugars, like sucrose, involve these functional groups in glycosidic bond formation.