Graft copolymers of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides and modified polysaccharides, the preparation thereof, and their use

A detergent or cleaning agent which contains surfactants as the essential constituents, containing from 0.1 to 20% by weight of a graft copolymer obtainable by free radical-initiated copolymerization of

• (A) monomer mixtures of
• (a) from 90 to 10% by weight of a monoethylenically unsaturated C.sub.4 - to C.sub.8 -dicarboxylic acid, or an anhydride, alkali metal salt and/or ammonium salt thereof,
• (b) from 10 to 90% by weight of a monoethylenically unsaturated C.sub.3 - to C.sub.10 -carboxylic acid, or an alkali metal salt and/or ammonium salt thereof,
• (c) from 0 to 40% by weight of another monoethylenically unsaturated monomer which is copolymerizable with monomers (a) and (b), and
• (d) from 0 to 5% by weight of a monomer containing two or more ethylenically unsaturated, non-conjugated double bonds in the molecule,
• in the presence of
• (B) a monosaccharide, oligosaccharide, polysaccharide, oxidatively, hydrolytically or enzymatically degraded polysaccharide, oxidized, hydrolytically or enzymatically degraded polysaccharie, or chemically modified monosaccharide, oligosaccharide or polysaccharide, or a mixture of said compounds,
• in the weight ratio (A):(B) of (95 to 20):(5 to 80).