A carbohydrate that yields many monosaccharides when hydrolyzed is called a polysaccharide. Polysaccharides are complex carbohydrates made up of long chains of monosaccharide units, and upon hydrolysis, these chains break down to release many monosaccharides. Examples of polysaccharides include starch and cellulose. This distinguishes them from disaccharides, which yield two monosaccharides upon hydrolysis, and monosaccharides, which cannot be hydrolyzed further.
