Hemicelluloses Besides cellulose and pectins, hemicelluloses form the third group of the cell wall polysaccharides in plants. The word hemicellulose refers to a partial similarity or a close connection with cellulose. For most of the hemicelluloses, the similarity originates from the structure of the linear backbone of the polysaccharides that consist of 1,4-linked β-D-glycopyranosyl units,
