Chapter 4

Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates are made of

carbon,hydrogen, and oxygen.
• They are used as a source of
energy for the body.
• There are three types of
carbohydrates:
• Monosaccharides, disaccharides,
and polysaccharides.
• Monosaccharides (i.e.
glucose) are the most
simplest form of sugars.

• They are a single unit and

they cannot be broken
down any further to make
a more simpler sugar.
• Disacchardies are literally two monosaccharides joined together.
• Polysaccharides are large chains of
monosaccharides joined together
• Starch is a polysaccharide made of
large chains of glucose
• Glycogen is another polysaccharide
made of large chains of glucose
• Cellulose is a polysaccharide made
of large chains of glucose
Functions of Carbohydrates
• Releases energy.
• Carbohydrate like Glucose, is used in respiration.
• Human blood contains Glucose which gets
transported to all cells. Then these cells use up all
glucose for metabolic processes.
• Glucose cannot be trasported to their cells by
plants. They trasport Sucrose, the cells convert
them to glucose when they need to use it.
• Plants have cellulose fibers criss crossing forming
a rigid cell wall.
• Carbohydrates are stored as Glycogen in livers
and muscles in Human body.
Tests for Carbohydrates (Starch)
• Add a few drops of iodine
solution to the food sample.
• Blue/black coloration means
starch is present.
Test for Monosaccharide Sugar
• Benedict’s test
• Add equal amount of Benedict’s
solution into a solution of food
and boil gently.
• A colour change (from blue to
brick red) signifies presence and
quantity of monosacchrides.
 Fats/oils
• Fats are made of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen. The oxygen content is lower than in
carbohydrates.
• Also known as lipids. Fat molecules is made
with four smaller molecules joined together.
• Insoluble in water.
• Fats have various purposes in the body:
• Source of energy. In fact, they have two times
higher energy content than carbohydrates!
• Heat insulation
• Myelin sheath formation
• Cell membrane formation
• Fats are made up of three fatty acid units attached to a single unit of
glycerol:
Test for Fats (Ethanol emulsion test)
• Chop some food
• Shake that with Ethanol
• Fats donot dissolve in water, but they
do dissolve in ethanol.
• Pour the ethanol into water.
• If any food is present then they will
break down into million of droplets
when mixed with water.
• This is called emulsion (opaque and
white like milk).
• No fat means trasparent mixtrure of
food ethanol and water.
 Proteins
• Proteins are made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes
sulfur or phosphorus. They are extremely important to the body and serve
many different functions.
Functions of Protein:
• Growth
• Tissue repair
• Cell membrane formation
• Source of energy
• Proteins are made of long chains
of amino acids chemically
bonded to each other.
• There are about 20 different
amino acids that are found in the
human body.
• Different combinations of these
amino acids will give rise to
different proteins.
• For example, each of the different colored circles represent a different
amino acid. They are joined in a specific sequence as shown below:
• It is really important to understand here that the final 3D
structure of a protein is derived from the specific
interactions between amino acids that are joined in the
protein chain.
• The sequence of amino acids in the chain therefore creates
the final shape of the protein, and the shape is what gives
the protein its function.
• For example: Consider amino acids A B C D and E. The
hyphens represent a chemical bond between the amino
acids.

• Protein 1: A-B-C-D-E
• Protein 2: A-C-B-D-E

• In the example above, protein 1 has amino acids A through

to E joined in order. Protein 2 on the other hand, has a
slightly different amino acid sequence. Just from this slight
difference in amino acid order, protein 2 will be
completely different from protein 1 in terms of its function
and structure. This is super important for you to understand.
 DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
• Chemical that makes up our genes and
chromosomes.
• Inheritence of characteristics from parents.
• Double helical structure.
• Bases arranged along the strand in series.
• 4 bases- A, T, G and C.
• A double bonds with T and G triple bonds
with C.
• Arrangement of these base sequences
determines the type of protein formed in the
body.
Water
• 80% of human body.
• Important solvent.
• Plasma is the liquid part of the
blood which dissolves glucose.
• Dissolve different enzymes.
• Dissolve nutrients in alimentary
canal.
• Getting rid of wates from body.