CARBOHYDRATES

CARBOHYDRATES: (SACCHARIDES) ARE THE MOST ABUNDANT

ORGANIC MOLECULES IN NATURE. THEY HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF
FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF
THE DIETARY CALORIES FOR MOST ORGANISMS, ACTING AS A
STORAGE FORM OF ENERGY IN THE BODY, AND SERVING AS CELL
MEMBRANE COMPONENTS THAT MEDIATE SOME FORMS OF
INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION. CARBOHYDRATES ALSO SERVE
AS A STRUCTURAL COMPONENT OF MANY ORGANISMS,
INCLUDING THE CELL WALLS OF BACTERIA, THE EXOSKELETON OF
MANY INSECTS, AND THE FIBROUS CELLULOSE OF PLANTS. THE
EMPIRIC FORMULA FOR MANY OF THE SIMPLER CARBOHYDRATES IS
(CH2O)N, WHERE N ≥ 3, HENCE THE NAME “HYDRATE OF CARBON.
 HISTORY…
• IN THE 19TH CENTURY, THE GREAT FRENCH
PHYSIOLOGIST, CLAUDE BERNARD, DISCOVERED
GLYCOGEN (CARBOHYDRATES), THE STARCH-LIKE
SUBSTANCE FOUND IN MUSCLES AND THE LIVER.
• HE DISCOVERED A STARCH LIKE
SUBSTANCE IN THE LIVER OF
MAMMALS. THIS SUBSTANCE, HE
LATER SHOWED, WAS NOT ONLY
BUILT OUT OF GLUCOSE TAKEN
FROM THE BLOOD, BUT COULD BE
BROKEN DOWN AGAIN INTO
SUGAR WHENEVER IT WAS NEEDED.
 THERE ARE 5 PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF CARBOHYDRATES IN THE
HUMAN BODY.
• ENERGY PRODUCTION- THE PRIMARY ROLE OF CARBOHYDRATES IS TO SUPPLY ENERGY TO ALL THE
CELLS IN THE BODY.
• ENERGY RESTORED- IF THE BODY ALREADY HAS ENOUGH ENERGY TO SUPPORT ITS FUNCTIONS,
THE EXCESS GLUCOSE IS STORED AS GLYCOGEN.
• BUILDING MACROMOLECULES- ALTHOUGH MOST ABSORBED GLUCOSE IS USED TO MAKE ENERGY,
SOME GLUCOSE IS CONVERTED TO RIBOSE AND DEOXYRIBOSE, WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL BUILDING
BLOCKS OF IMPORTANT MACROMOLECULES.
• SPARING PROTEIN- IN A SITUATION WHERE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH GLUCOSE TO MEET THE BODY’S
NEED, GLUCOSE IS SYNTHESIZED FROM AMINO ACIDS.
• LIPID METABOLISM- AS BLOOD-GLUCOSE LEVELS RISE, THE USE OF LIPIDS AS AN ENERGY SOURCE IS
INHIBITED.
BOTH PLANTS AND ANIMALS USE CARBOHYDRATES AS A SOURCE OF ENERGY
ESSENTIAL TO CARRYING OUT NORMAL FUNCTIONS SUCH AS GROWTH, MOVEMENT
AND METABOLISM.
ANIMALS RECEIVE THESE STARCHES THROUGH FOODS, ESPECIALLY THOSE MADE
FROM PLANT LIFE.
PLANTS MANUFACTURE THEIR OWN CARBOHYDRATES THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
CARBOHYDRATE FUNCTIONS AS FRAMEWORK IN BODY
*CELLULOSE FORMS CELL WALL OF PLANT CELL ALONG WITH HEMICELLULOSES AND
PECTIN
*CHITIN FORMS CELL WALL OF FUNGAL CELL AND EXOSKELETON OF ARTHROPODS
*PEPTIDOGLYCAN FORMS CELL WALL OF BACTERIA AND CYANOBACTERIA.
 TYPES OF CARBOHYDRATES
• 1. MONOSACCHARIDES
• 2. DISACCHARIDES
• 3. OLIGOSACCHARIDES
• 4. POLYSACCHARIDES
MONOSACCHARIDES
 MONOSACCHARIDES
• -IS A SIMPLE SUGAR CONTAINS 1 MONOMER
• -TO PRODUCE AND STORE ENERGY
• -TO RELEASE ENERGY BY PRODUCT
• -MOST BASIC FORM OF CARBOHYDRATES
 COMMON
MONOSACCHARIDES
• GLUCOSE
• FRUCTOSE
• GALACTOSE
• GLUCOSE:
• AKA DEXTROSE
• MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR HUMAN.
• SIMPLE SUGAR THAT IS THE CHIEF SOURCE OF ENERGY. IT IS FOUND IN
THE BLOOD AND IS THE MAIN SUGAR THAT THE BODY MANUFACTURES.
INSULIN IS A HORMONE THAT MOVES GLUCOSE FROM YOUR BLOOD
INTO THE CELLS FOR ENERGY AND STORAGE.
• 6 CARBON ATOMS.
• GALACTOSE:
• A SIMPLE SUGAR THAT IS NORMALLY TRANSFORMED IN THE LIVER
BEFORE BEING USED UP AS ENERGY.
• CAN BE FOUND IN DAIRY PRODUCTS.
• WHEN GALACTOSE AND GLUCOSE COMBINED, IT WILL FORM THE
DISACCHARIDE LACTOSE.
• SOMETIMES ABBREVIATED AS GAL, AND IS ABOUT AS SWEET AS
GLUCOSE AND ABOUT 30% AS SUCROSE. IT IS A C-4 EPIMER OF
GLUCOSE.
• FRUCTOSE:
• FRUIT SUGAR, FOUND IN MANY PLANTS WHERE IT IS OFTEN
BONDED TO GLUCOSE TO FORM THE DISACCHARIDE SUCROSE.
• ONE OF THE DIETARY MONOSACCHARIDES ALONG WITH
GLUCOSE AND GALACTOSE, THAT ARE ABSORBED DIRECTLY INTO
BLOOD DURING DIGESTION.
DISACCHARIDE
• A DISACCHARIDE, ALSO CALLED A DOUBLE SUGAR, IS
A MOLECULE FORMED BY TWO MONOSACCHARIDES, OR SIMPLE
SUGARS. THEY HAVE 12 CARBON ATOMS, AND THEIR CHEMICAL
FORMULA IS C12H22O11. DISACCHARIDES ARE FORMED THROUGH
DEHYDRATION REACTIONS IN WHICH A TOTAL OF ONE WATER
MOLECULE IS REMOVED FROM THE TWO MONOSACCHARIDES.
• FUNCTION/IMPORTANCE
• DISACCHARIDES ARE CARBOHYDRATES FOUND IN MANY FOODS
AND ARE OFTEN ADDED AS SWEETENERS. SUCROSE, FOR EXAMPLE,
IS TABLE SUGAR, AND IT IS THE MOST COMMON DISACCHARIDE
THAT HUMANS EAT. IT IS ALSO FOUND IN OTHER FOODS LIKE
BEETROOT. WHEN DISACCHARIDES LIKE SUCROSE ARE DIGESTED,
THEY ARE BROKEN DOWN INTO THEIR SIMPLE SUGARS AND USED
FOR ENERGY. LACTOSE IS FOUND IN BREAST MILK AND PROVIDES
NUTRITION FOR INFANTS. MALTOSE IS A SWEETENER THAT IS OFTEN
FOUND IN CHOCOLATES AND OTHER CANDIES.
THREE COMMON DISACCHARIDES:
• SUCROSE
• MALTOSE
• LACTOSE.
SUCROSE
• SUCROSE, COMMONLY KNOWN AS TABLE SUGAR IN ITS REFINED FORM,
IS A DISACCHARIDE FOUND IN MANY PLANTS. IT IS MADE UP OF THE
MONOSACCHARIDES GLUCOSE AND FRUCTOSE. IN THE FORM OF
SUGAR, SUCROSE IS A VERY IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE HUMAN
DIET AS A SWEETENER. SUGAR WAS FIRST EXTRACTED AND PURIFIED
FROM SUGAR CANE IN INDIA AS EARLY AS THE 8TH CENTURY BCE. IN
FACT, THE WORD CANDY GETS ITS NAME IN PART FROM THE
WORD KHANDA, WHICH WAS A NAME FOR SUGAR CRYSTALS IN
SANSKRIT. TODAY, AROUND 175 METRIC TONS OF SUGAR ARE
PRODUCED EACH YEAR.
MALTOSE
• MALTOSE, ALSO KNOWN AS MALT SUGAR, IS FORMED
FROM TWO GLUCOSE MOLECULES. MALT IS FORMED
WHEN GRAINS SOFTEN AND GROW IN WATER, AND IT IS
A COMPONENT OF BEER, STARCHY FOODS LIKE CEREAL,
PASTA, AND POTATOES, AND MANY SWEETENED
PROCESSED FOODS. IN PLANTS, MALTOSE IS FORMED
WHEN STARCH IS BROKEN DOWN FOR FOOD. IT IS USED
BY GERMINATING SEEDS IN ORDER TO GROW.
LACTOSE
• LACTOSE, OR MILK SUGAR, IS MADE UP OF GALACTOSE AND
GLUCOSE. THE MILK OF MAMMALS IS HIGH IN LACTOSE AND
PROVIDES NUTRIENTS FOR INFANTS. MOST MAMMALS CAN ONLY
DIGEST LACTOSE AS INFANTS, AND LOSE THIS ABILITY AS THEY
MATURE. IN FACT, HUMANS THAT ARE ABLE TO DIGEST DAIRY
PRODUCTS IN ADULTHOOD ACTUALLY HAVE A MUTATION THAT
ALLOWS THEM TO DO SO. THIS IS WHY SO MANY PEOPLE ARE
LACTOSE INTOLERANT; HUMANS, LIKE OTHER MAMMALS, DID NOT
HAVE THE ABILITY TO DIGEST LACTOSE PAST CHILDHOOD UNTIL
THIS MUTATION BECAME PREVALENT IN CERTAIN POPULATIONS
AROUND 10,000 YEARS AGO.
OLIGOSACCHARIDES
• OLIGOSACCHARIDES ARE CARBOHYDRATES THAT CONTAIN
THREE TO TEN MONOSACCHARIDE UNITS BONDED TO EACH
OTHER VIA GLYCOSIDE LINKAGES. TWO NATURALLY OCCURRING
OLIGOSACCHARIDES FOUND IN ONIONS, CABBAGE, BROCCOLI,
BRUSSEL SPROUTS, WHOLE WHEAT, AND ALL TYPES OF BEANS
ARE THE TRISACCHARIDE RAFFINOSE AND THE
TETRASACCHARIDE STACHYOSE. RAFFINOSE’S
MONOSACCHARIDE COMPONENTS ARE GALACTOSE, GLUCOSE,
AND FRUCTOSE. STACHYOSE’S STRUCTURE DIFFERS FROM THAT
OF RAFFINOSE IN THAT AN ADDITIONAL GALACTOSE UNIT IS
PRESENT. DETAILED STRUCTURES FOR THESE TWO
OLIGOSACCHARIDES ARE GIVEN IN FIGURE 18.22. NOTE THE
PRESENCE IN BOTH STRUCTURES OF TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF
GLYCOSIDIC LINKAGES—A(1 : 6) AND A,B(1 : 2) LINKAGES.
• HUMANS LACK THE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES NECESSARY TO METABOLIZE
EITHER RAFFINOSE OR STACHYOSE. HENCE THESE OLIGOSACCHARIDES,
WHEN INGESTED IN FOOD, PASS UNDIGESTED INTO THE LARGE
INTESTINE, WHERE BACTERIA ACT UPON THEM. THIS BACTERIAL ACTION
USUALLY PRODUCES DISCOMFORT AND FLATULENCE (GAS).
• SOLANINE, A COMPOUND FOUND IN THE POTATO PLANT, IS ANOTHER
EXAMPLE OF AN OLIGOSACCHARIDE-CONTAINING “COMPLEX”
MOLECULE.
• THE POTATO PLANT, PRODUCE TOXINS AS A DEFENSE AGAINST
• INSECTS AND PREDATORS. SOLANINE IS THE POTATO PLANT’S TOXIN.
POLYSACCHARIDES
• POLYSACCHARIDES – CONSISTING OF LARGE NUMBERS OF
MONOSACCHARIDE UNITS JOINED BY GLYCOSIDIC BONDS.
• POLYMERS OF MONOSACCHARIDES
• NON CRYSTALLINE AND WATER INSOLUBLE.
• IT IS NOT SWEET COMPARED TO MONOSACCHARIDE
• KNOWN AS GLYCANS
• 2 CLASSES OF POLYSACCHARIDES:
• HOMOPOLYSACCHARIDES- COMPOSED OF ONE TYPE OF
MONOSACCHARIDE. IT IS ABUNDANT IN NATURE. EXAMPLES ARE
STARCH, GLYCOGEN AND CELLULOSE. IN HYDROLYSIS, THE
PRODUCT IS D-GLUCOSE.
• HETEROPOLYSACCHARIDES- IN WHICH MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF
MONOSACCHARIDE MONOMER IS PRESENT.
 TYPES OF POLYSACCHARIDES:

• STORAGE POLYSACCHARIDE- STORAGE FORM OF MONOSACCHARIDES AND

USED AS AN ENERGY SOURCE IN CELLS.
• STARCH- IT IS THE ENERGY SOURCE IN PLANTS. THEY ARE PRESENT IN RICE,
POTATOES, WHEAT AND CORN. IT IS THE SECOND MOST ABUNDANT
CARBOHYDRATE IN NATURE. IT IS THE MAIN CONTRIBUTOR OF
CARBOHYDRATES IN OUR DIET.
• TWO STRUCTURALLY DIFFERENT POLYSACCHARIDES:
• AMYLOSE - AN UNBRANCHED CHAIN FORMED BY D-GLUCOSE
UNITS LINKED BY Α- GLYCOSIDIC LINKAGES. THEY ARE 20% IN
STARCH AND IT IS SOLUBLE IN WATER.
• THE TEST THAT WAS USED FOR STARCH IS IODINE’S TEST. THE
POSITIVE RESULT IS BLUE-BLACK COLOR SOLUTION.
• AMYLOPECTIN- BRANCHED CHAIN STRUCTURE. THEY ARE
CONNECTED BY 1,6- LINKAGES. THE DISACCHARIDES THAT CAN BE
OBTAINED FROM DIGESTION OF AMYLOPECTIN ARE MALTOSE AND
ISOMALTOSE. IT IS INSOLUBLE IN WATER AND THEY ARE 80% IN
STARCH.
• GLYCOGEN- IT IS ALSO CALLED THE “ANIMAL STARCH”. IT IS
FOUND IN LIVER AND MUSCLES AND STORES ENERGY IN
MAMMALS. THE STRUCTURE OF GLYCOGEN IS AMYLOPECTIN.
• ACCORDING TO IT’S PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, IT IS WHITE POWDER
AND SOLUBLE IN WATER RATHER THAN AMYLOPECTIN.
 STRUCTURAL POLYSACCHARIDE
• CELLULOSE – IT IS THE MOST ABUNDANT CARBOHYDRATE IN NATURE. IT IS THE
MAIN STRUCTURAL MATERIAL OF TREES AND OTHER PLANTS. IT’S GENERAL
FORMULA IS (C6H10O5)N. OTHER SOURCES OF CELLULOSE ARE STRAW,
CORNCOBS.
• THEY ACT LIKE STIFF RODS AND ALIGN THEMSELVES SIDE BY SIDE INTO WELL
ORGANIZED WATER INSOLUBLE FIBERS. IT IS ALSO INSOLUBLE IN WATER.
• ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES- A GROUP OF
POLYSACCHARIDES THAT CONTAIN CARBOXYL GROUPS
AND/OR SULFURIC ESTER GROUPS, AND PLAY IMPORTANT
ROLES IN THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF CONNECTIVE
TISSUES.
• HYALURONIC ACID- SERVES AS LUBRICANTS IN THE FLUIDS OF
JOINTS. IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE JELLY-LIKE CONSISTENCY OF
THE VITROUS HUMOR OF THE EYE.
• IT CONTAINS ALTERNATING RESIDUES OF N-ACETYL- Β- D-
GLUCOSAMINE (NAG) AND D-GLUCORONATE.
• HEPARIN- IT IS A BLOOD ANTICOAGULANT. IT PREVENTS THE CLOTS
IN THE BLOOD AND RETARDS THE GROWTH OF EXISTING CLOTHS
WITHIN THE BLOOD.
• A SMALL HIGHLY SULPHATED POLYSACCHARIDE WITH ONLY 15-90
DISACCHARIDE RESIDUES PER CHAIN.