Syrup

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Syrup

Syrup (/ˈsɪrəp/ or /ˈsɪərəp/) is a thick, viscous liquid, primarily composed of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals.

Etymology

The word "syrup" is derived from the Arabic word شراب (sharāb) which means "beverage" or "wine", through Medieval Latin siropus.

Types of Syrup

There are several types of syrup, including:

  • Corn syrup: A syrup made from cornstarch, composed mainly of glucose.
  • Maple syrup: A syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees.
  • High-fructose corn syrup: A sweetener made from corn starch that has been processed by glucose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose.
  • Golden syrup: A type of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar.

Medical Use

In medicine, syrup is often used as a vehicle for medicinal substances. It is used to mask the bitter taste of some drugs or to make them easier to swallow. Some over-the-counter and prescription medications, such as cough suppressants and laxatives, are commonly available as syrups.

Related Terms

  • Viscosity: A measure of a fluid's resistance to flow. It describes the internal friction of a moving fluid.
  • Sugar: A class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose.
  • Medicinal substances: Substances used to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose a disease or promote well-being.
  • Glucose: A simple sugar that is an important energy source in living organisms and is a component of many carbohydrates.
  • Fructose: A simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose.

External links

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