College of Health Education

Biochemistry (T- 1:00-3:00 & F- 8:00- 12:00)

Research Activity

CARBOHYDRATES

Author: Score:

Velasco, Grayjay A. Date: October 16, 2019

Jaco, Robelyn L.
 Unit 6: CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates, which include sugars and starches, contain

carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. With slight variations, the
hydrogen and oxygen atoms appear in the same ratio as in water;
that is, 2 hydrogen atoms to 1 oxygen atom. This is reflected in the
word Carbohydrates, which means "hydrated carbon," and in the
molecular formulas of sugars. Together with lipids, proteins and
nucleic acids, are one of the four major classes of biologically
essential organic molecules found in all living organisms.

General formula of Carbohydrate

(CH2 O) or C (H2O)n is the general empirical structure of carbohydrates. Monosaccharides are simple sugars
which serve as fuel molecules and fundamental constituents of living organisms and these are the simplest
carbohydrates required as the energy sources. Glucose and fructose are the most commonly known
Carbohydrates.

The Saccharides or carbohydrates are simply defined as "Optically active polyhydroxy aldehydes or
polyhydroxy ketones or substances which
give these on hydrolysis are termed as
carbohydrates”.
Carbohydrates, all coming from the process of photosynthesis, represent the major part of organic substance
on Earth, are the most abundant organic components in the major part of fruits, vegetables, legumes and
cereal grains, carry out many functions in all living organisms and are the major energy source in a
Mediterranean-type diet. Finally, they provide flavor and texture in many processed foods

Few common types of carbohydrates are milk, bread, popcorn, potatoes, maze, etc.

The carbohydrates are largely distributed in both

plant and animal tissues. Carbohydrates occur
mainly in form of glycogen and glucose in animal
cells and as cellulose and starch in the plant cells.

Importance and Functions of Carbohydrates

1. Carbohydrate oxidation provides energy.

2. Carbohydrates storage, in the dorm of glycogen, provides a short- term energy reserve.

3. Carbohydrates supply carbon atoms for the synthesis of other biochemical substances (proteins, lipids,
nucleic acids).

4. Carbohydrates form part of the structural framework of DNA and RNA molecules.

5. Carbohydrates linked to lipids are structural components of cell membranes.

6. Carbohydrates linked to proteins function in a variety of cell-cell and cell-molecule recognition processes.

7.Flavor and Sweeteners

8.Dietary fiber (Cellulose)

9.Derivatives of cellulose such as cellulose nitrates are used in explosives, lacquers, celluloid and collodion.
Cellulose acetate is used in photographic film and packing materials.

10.Regulation of various metabolic processes in the body as key molecules in the central metabolic pathways
of the body.

11. Serve also as stored forms of energy as glycogen in liver and muscles.
12. Protection of bacterial cells as bacterial cell wall polysaccharides, made up of murein (N-acetyl muramic
acid (NAMA), N-acetyl glucosamine, and several other amino acids linked by peptide linkage).

13. Stabilization of protein structures as in the case of glycoproteins.

14. Important components of brain cells as neuraminic acids, cerebrosides (Glycolipids) and gangliosides.

15. Carbohydrates form the chief components of sulfolipids which are present in chloroplasts and in
chromatophores of photosynthetic bacteria.

16. Important component of nucleic acids as pentose sugars ribose and deoxyribose.

17.Function as physiological anticoagulant (Heparin).

19. Storage form of food in plants as starch.

18. Hyaluronic acid is an important component of the vitreous body of the eye, the umbilical cord and as a
lubricant in synovial fluid of the joints.

20.Trehalose (Disaccharide) is the chief component of the hemolymph of insects, where it serves as the chief
source of energy. It is also present in yeasts and other fungi.

21. Pentosans (Carbohydrates composed of pentoses) are present in plant gums and mucilage.

22. Many glucosides (Carbohydrate derivative from plants) are important drugs, such as glucoside of digitalis
which is utilized for the treatment of heart diseases.

23. Carbohydrates are essential components of milk, especially lactose.

24. Pectin is utilized for furnishing gelling characteristics to jellies, and is used for preservation of fruits.

25. Blood group polysaccharides, made up of D-galactosamine, D-glucosamine, D-galactose, L-fucose, and N-
acetyl neuraminic acid (NANA or Sialic acid) is present in saliva, gastric mucin, cystic fluid, and other body
secretions. They combine with proteins in erythrocytes to form the A, B, O, Rh and other antigens and hence
help in the differentiation between different blood groups.

26. Proteoglycans (Proteins Oligosaccharides) are important for the absorption by fibroblasts, as receptors and carriers
of macromolecules, cell growth regulators and also influence the protein synthesis and intranuclear functions.

27. Inulin (Homopolysaccharide) is used for clinical purposes in clearance tests.28. Chondroitin sulfates A and C form the
major structural components of cartilage, tendons and bones. They are often associated with collagen.
Classification of Carbohydrates

1. Monosaccharide means one (mono) sugar (saccharide), and thus monosaccharides referred to as
Simple Sugars. They are containing a single polyhydroxy aldehyde or polyhydroxy ketone unit (single-
chain or single- ring structures), containing 3 to 7 carbon atoms; 5 and 6- carbon species are especially
common. They are classified as a triose, tetrose, pentose, hexose, or heptose. Pure monosaccharides
are water-soluble white, crystalline solids. They are classified into glucose, fructose, galactose, ribose,
and deoxyribose. Its general formula CnH2nOn. They are classified as a triose, tetrose, pentose,
hexose, or heptose
With only one exception, the monosaccharides are optically active compounds. Although both D and L isomers
are possible, most of the monosaccharides found in nature are in the D configuration. Structures for the D and
L isomer of the simplest aldose, glyceraldehyde, are shown below.

The structures of many monosaccharides were first determined by Emil Fischer in the 1880s and 1890s and
are still written according to a convention he developed. The Fischer projection represents what the molecule
would look like if its three-dimensional structure were projected onto a piece of paper. By convention, Fischer
projections are written vertically, with the aldehyde or ketone at the top. The -OH group on the second-to-last
carbon atom is written on the right side of the skeleton structure for the D isomer and on the left for the L
isomer. Fischer projections for the two isomers of glyceraldehyde are shown below.

These Fischer projections can be obtained from the skeleton structures shown above by imaging what would
happen if you placed a model of each isomer on an overhead projector so that the CHO and CH2OH groups
rested on the glass and then looked at the images of these models that would be projected on a screen.
Fischer projections for some of the more common monosaccharides are given in the figure below.
If the carbon chain is long enough, the alcohol at one end of a monosaccharide can attack the carbonyl group
at the other end to form a cyclic compound. When a six-membered ring is formed, the product of this reaction
is called a pyranose. When a five- membered ring is formed, it is called a furanose, as shown in the figure
below.

There are two possible structures for the pyranose and furanose forms of a monosaccharide, which are called the a- and
b-anomers.

The reactions that lead to the formation of a pyranose or a furanose are reversible. Thus, it doesn't matter whether we
start with a pure sample of a-D-glucopyranose or b-D-glucopyranose. Within minutes, these anomers are interconverted
to give an equilibrium mixture that is 63.6% of the b-anomer and 36.4% of the a-anomer. The 2:1 preference for the b-
anomer can be understood by comparing the structures of these molecules shown previously. In the b-anomer, all of the
bulky -OH or -CH2OH substituents lie more or less within the plane of the six-membered ring. In the a-anomer, one of
the -OH groups are perpendicular to the plane of the six-membered ring, in a region where it feels strong repulsive
forces from the hydrogen atoms that lie in similar positions around the ring. As a result, the b-anomer is slightly more
stable than the a-anomer.

 Glucose:
Glucose also called blood sugar or sugar of the body, universal cellular fuel. It can be seen in fruit juices
and formed in the body by hydrolysis of cane sugar, starch, lactose, and maltose. Its structure can be
depicted in the form of a ring or chain. It is
found in fruits, honey, and under abnormal
conditions in urine.

 Fructose
Fructose can be seen naturally in honey, tomatoes and apples. Hydrolysis of cane sugar in the body
can also give up fructose. C6H12 O6 is the molecular formula for fructose. Generally, fructose is the
sweetest monosaccharide and is prepared by sucrose hydrolysis.

 Galactose
An element of glycoproteins and glycolipids is the galactose. It is produced in the mammary glands and
hydrolyzed to make the lactose of milk. Diseases associated with carbohydrate metabolism include
Diabetes mellitus, galactosemia, glycogen storage diseases, and lactose intolerance.
 Mannose
On the hydrolysis of plants gums and mannoses, mannose is obtained. A constituent of the prosthetic
polysaccharide of albumins, mucoproteins and globulins is a mannose. Hexoses and pentoses exist in both ring
and gen chain forms.

2. Disaccharide or double sugars, are formed when two simple sugars are joined by a synthesis reaction
known as Dehydration synthesis. In this reaction, a water molecule is lost as the bond forms. Cn (H2
O)n-1 is the general formula for disaccharide. The most common disaccharides forms are lactose,
maltose and sucrose. Its general formula C12H22O11.
 Lactose can be found in milk or the Milk sugar. On hydrolysis, it produces D- galactose and D- glucose.
It is a reducing disaccharide, as it has a free anomeric carbon on the glucose residue.

 Maltose or Malt sugar is formed as a transitional product of the action of amylases on starch and it
contains 2 glucose residues in 1, 4 linkages. It can be seen in a detectable amount in many germinating
tissues and seeds where starch is being broken down.

 Sucrose or Cane sugar is a disaccharide of fructose and glucose. The hydrolysis of sucrose to D-
glucose and D- fructose is often known as inversion as it is accompanied by a net change in optical
rotation from dextro to levo as the equimolar mixture is known as invert sugar. Certain enzymes like
 invertases catalyze this reaction. It is also tremendously abundant in the plants and is commonly known
as Table sugar.

 Trehalose possesses two D- glucose and it is a non-

reducing disaccharide like that of sucrose. It is
the main sugar that can be seen in many of the
insects haernolymph.

3. Polysaccharide (literally "many sugars"- ten or more) The final category of carbohydrates.
- are long, branching chains of linked simple sugars. Because they are large, insoluble molecules, they
are ideal storage products. Another consequence of their large size is that they lack the sweetness of
the simple and double sugars. There large number of monosaccharides units bonded together by
glycosidic bonds. Three important polysaccharides, all made up of glucose units, are starch, glycogen,
and cellulose.
Only two polysaccharides, starch and glycogen, are of major importance to the body. Starch is the
storage polysaccharide formed plants. We invest it in the form of "starchy" foods, such as grains
products (rice and corn) and root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beans and peas). Glycogen is a slightly
smaller, but similar, polysaccharide found in animal tissues (largely in the muscles and the liver). Like
starch, it is formed of linked glucose units.

Polysaccharides can be classified into two types: Homopolysaccharides, and Heteropolysaccharides.

a. Homopolysaccharides or Homoglycans are the complex carbohydrates that are formed by the
method of polymerization of only one type of monosaccharide monomers. Examples: glycogen, starch
and cellulose are composed of a single type of monosaccharide known as glucose.

b. Heteropolysaccharides or Heteroglycans are the complex carbohydrates that are made by the
process of condensation of either one type of monosaccharide monomer or monosaccharide
derivatives. Examples: agar, chitin, arbanogalactaus, peptidoglycan, arabinoxylan, etc.

A. Starch: Amylose and Amylopectin

Starch is used for energy storage in plants. It is found in all plant seeds and tubers and is the form in
which glucose is stored for later use. Starch can be separated into two principal polysaccharides:
amylose and amylopectin. Although the starch from each plant is unique, most starches contain 20
to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin.
Complete hydrolysis of both amylose and amylopectin yields only D-glucose. Amylose is
composed of
continuous, unbranched
chains of as many as 4000 D-
glucose units joined by a-1,4-
glycosidic bonds.
Amylopectin contains
chains of as many as 10,000 D-
glucose units also joined by a-
1,4- glycosidic bonds. In
addition, considerable
branching from this
linear network occurs. New
chains of 24 to 30 units are
started at branch points a-1,6-
glycosidic bonds.

B. Glycogen
Glycogen acts as the energy- reserve carbohydrate for animals. Like amylopectin, it is a branched
polysaccharide containing approximately 106 glucose units joined by a-1,4- and a-1,6- glycosidic
bonds. The total amount of glycogen in the body of a well-nourished adult human is about 350g,
divided almost equally between liver and muscle.

C. Cellulose
 Cellulose, most widely distributed plant skeletal; polysaccharide, constitute almost half of the cell-
wall material of wood. Cotton is almost pure cellulose.
Cellulose is a linear polysaccharide of D-glucose units joined by B-1,4-gluucose units joined by B-
1,4-Glycosidic bonds. It has an average molecular weight of 400,000 g/mol, corresponding to
approximately 2200 glucose units per molecule. The difference between cellulose and amylose can
be seen by comparing the figures of amylose and cellulose. Cellulose is formed by linking b-
glucopyranose rings, instead of the a-glucopyranose rings in starch and glycogen.
The -OH substituent that serves as the primary link between -glucopyranose rings in starch and
glycogen is perpendicular to the plane of the six-membered ring. As a result, the glucopyranose
rings in these carbohydrates form a structure that resembles the stairs of a staircase. The -OH
substituent that links the b-glucopyranose rings in cellulose lies in the plane of the six-membered
ring. This molecule therefore stretches out in a linear fashion. This makes it easier for strong
hydrogen bonds to form between the -OH groups of adjacent molecules. This, in turn gives cellulose
the rigidity required for it to serve as a source of the mechanical structure of plant cells.
Cellulose and starch provide an excellent example of the link between the structure and function
of biomolecules. At the turn of the century, Emil Fischer suggested that the structure of an enzyme is
matched to the substance on which it acts, in much the same way that a lock and key are matched.
Thus, the amylase enzymes in saliva that break down the a-linkages between glucose molecules in
starch cannot act on the b-linkages in cellulose.
Most animals cannot digest cellulose because they don't have an enzyme that can cleave b-
linkages between glucose molecules. Cellulose in their diet therefore serves only as fiber, or
roughage. The digestive tracts of some animals, such as cows, horses, sheep, and goats contain
bacteria that have enzymes that cleave these b-linkages, so these animals can digest cellulose.

4. Oligosaccharide is a carbohydrate that contains three to ten monosaccharide units covalently bonded
to each other. “Free” oligosaccharides are seldom encountered in biochemical systems. They are
usually found associated with proteins and lipids in complex molecules that have both structural and
regulatory functions. Complete hydrolysis if an oligosaccharide produces three monosaccharide units, a
hexasaccharide produces six monosaccharide units, and so on.

5. Trisaccharide occur free in nature and contain three monosaccharide units. Carbohydrates that on
hydrolysis give three molecules of monosaccharides, whether same or different. An example is
Raffinose and Melezitose.
6. Tertrasaccharides and as the name suggest this carbohydrate on hydrolysis give four molecules of
monosaccharides. An example is Stachyose namely Gal, gal, glucose, & fructose.