Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Biomolecule

 It is the organic molecule produced by living organisms.

Carbohydrates: Carbon dioxide, oxygen

Lipid: Carbon dioxide, oxygen

Protein: Carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen

Nucleic Acid: Carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, and Phosphorous.

3 Types of Carbohydrates

Polymer

 Long molecule consisting of many similar or identical building blocks linked by covalent
bonds.

Monomer

 Repeating units that serve as building blocks of a polymer.

Polymerization

 Chemical mechanism by which cells make polymers.

3 Types of Polymers

Condensation

 Reaction that covalently bonds a monomer to another monomer or polymer with loss of a
small molecule.

Dehydration

 Reaction that involves the loss of a water molecule during the synthesis of an organic
compound through the aid of enzymes

Hydrolysis

 Reaction that involves the disassembling of polymers into monomers by adding water
molecule.
Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Carbohydrates

 These molecules contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates play an
important role in the human body. They act as an energy source, help control blood
glucose and insulin metabolism, participate in cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism,
and help with fermentation.
 Represented by the formula: (CH2O)n
 Ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen is 1:2:1
 Contains carbonyl compounds and hydroxyl groups.
 Consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms

4 Types of carbohydrates

Monosaccharide – 1 sugar molecule

Disaccharide – 2 sugar molecules

Oligosaccharide – 3 to 10 sugar molecules

Polysaccharide – 10 or more sugar molecules

Monosaccharides

 Also known as simple sugar.

 Presence of only one sugar unit.
 General formula is Cn(HnO)n
 Colorless, crystalline solids, soluable in water, insoluble in a nonpolar solvent.

Structure and classification of some monosaccharides

Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Linear and ring forms of glucose

Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Functions of some monosaccharides

Glucose – source of energy in humans and plants

Galactose – presence of galactose is in milk sugar (lactose)

Fructose – found in fruits and honey which makes them sweet

Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids
Ribose – a structural element of nucleic acids and some enzymes

Mannose – a constituent of macroproteins and glycoproteins required for proper functioning of the
body

Disaccharides

 Two monosaccharides joined by glycosidic linkage

 Must be broken down into monosaccharides to be used for energy by organisms

Glycosidic bond

 A covalent bond formed between two sugar molecules

Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Functions of disaccharides

Sucrose

 A product of photosynthesis, which functions as a major source of carbon and energy in

plants.

Lactose

 A major source of energy in animals.

Maltose

 An important intermediate in starch and glycogen digestion.

Cellobiose

 Essential in carbohydrate metabolism.

Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Polysaccharides

 Chain of more than 10 carbohydrate monomers joined by glycosidic bonds

 Also known as glycans
 Mainly involved in the structural or storage functions of organisms.

Types of polysaccharides

 Homopolysaccharides (Storage polysaccharides, structural polysaccharides)

 Heteropolysaccharides

Homopolysaccharides (Structural polysaccharides)

 They provide mechanical stability to cells, organs, and organisms.

 Examples: chitin and cellulose.

Cellulose

 Found in plant cell wall

 Made of 3,00 or more glucose units
 Plays and important role in plant growth and development, as well as in human and
animal health.

Chitin

 An animo polysaccharide containing nitrogen

 Synthesized form units of N-acetyl D-glucosamine
 Building material that gives strength to the exoskeletons of crustaceans, insects, and the
cell wall of fungi.
Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Homopolysaccharides (Storage polysaccharide)

 Carbohydrate storage reserves that release sugar monomers when required by the body.
 Examples include starch, glycogen, and inulin

Starch

 1-4 alpha linkages of glucose monomers.

 Stores energy for plants.
 Catalyzed by enzyme amylase in animals to fulfill their energy requirement.

Glycogen

 Linked by two types of bonds: alpha-1, 4-glycosidic bond and alpha-1, 6-glycosidic bond.
 Stores energy and is found in the muscles and liver
 Also known as animal starch
 Considered the primary storage form of glucose in animals

Inulin

 Made up of 2-60 fructose units linked via beta-2, 1-glycosidic bonds with a terminal
glucose.
 Found in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs like wheat, asparagus, bananas,
leeks, etc.
 Often available in powder form.

Heteropolysaccharides

 They are composed of two or more repeating units of different types of monomers.
 Examples include glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), agarose, and peptidoglycans.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGS)

 Negatively charged unbranched heteropolysaccharides.

 Composed of repeating disaccharide units that are present in every mammalian
tissue.
Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids
 Occur naturally as polysaccharide branches of a protein chain, or protein core.

Lipids

 Three main types: triglycerides, phospholipids, and sterols.

 Large biological molecules that do not include true polymers.
 They are hydrophobic

Triglycerides

 Main form of lipids in the body and in foods.

 Commonly called as fats and oils.
 Fats are lipids that are solid at room temperature
 Oils are liquid at room temperature.

 made up of glycerol and three fatty acids.

 Glycerol in the three-carbon backbone of triglycerides
 Fatty acids are longer chains of carbon molecules attached to glycerol backbone.

Three types of fatty acids based on the number of double bonds

Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids
Three types of fatty acid configurations

Phospholipids

 An amphipathic molecule.
 Phospholipids consists of glycerol molecule, two fatty acids, and a phosphate group that is
modified by an alcohol
 Main component of cell membrane.

Phospholipid

 The phosphate group is the negatively charged polar head, which is hydrophilic.
 The fatty acid chains are the uncharged, nonpolar trails, which are hydrophobic

Sterols

 Do not contain any fatty acids but rather are multi-ring structures.
 Contain interlinking rings of carbon atoms, with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen side
chains.
 Cholesterol is the best-known sterol because of its role in heart disease.
Biomolecules Part1: Carbohydrates and Lipids

Cholesterol

 A 27-carbon compound with a unique structure having a hydrocarbon tail, a central sterol
nucleus made of four hydrocarbon rings, and a hydroxyl group.

 Plays an important part in the fluidity of cell membranes.

 Precursor in the synthesis of several important substances, including vitamin D, bile, and
sex hormones such as progesterone, testosterone, and estrogens.
 Not an essential nutrient since it is manufactured by the liver.

Plant sterol

 Inhibit cholesterol absorption the human body, which can contribute to lower
cholesterol levels, particularly lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels.
 occur naturally in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
 Examples are stigmastanol, campesterol.