Raffinose is also called melitose, melitriose, or gossypose.The term raffinose is derived from the French word raffiner (to refine)，owing to the fact that it was identified first in the products of beet-sugar refining.Raffinose is found in sugar-beets in small quantities and also in cotton seeds.Raffinose is a trisaccharide composed of galactose, fructose, and glucose. It can be found in beans, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, and other plants. In plants, raffinose is generated via binding of galactinol (a sugar alcohol) to sucrose. Raffinose has only 20 % of the sweetening intensity of sucrose.It is much more readily soluble in hot water than sucrose，consequently it remains in syrups and molasses during sugar refining process，especially in those products obtained from the process of extracting sugarfrom molasses.
