Biomolecules

What are Biomolecules?

 Organic compounds made by living
things
 Also called biochemicals
 Some are very large
 There are thousands of different
biomolecules, but are separated into 4
categories
4 CATEGORIES OF BIOMOLECULES

1) Carbohydrates 2) Lipids

4) Nucleic Acids
3) Protein
 Biomolecules:
CARBOHYDRATES
 Carbohydrates
 Most abundant class of biomolecules

 Chief source of energy of almost all living

organism

 Play vital role in our existence (not able to

think or move, no life activities, life would
not exist)
 Carbohydrates
 Come from the French term “hydrate de
carbone” which means “hydrates of
carbon”

 Called saccharide from the Greek

“sakcharon”, meaning “sugar”
 Suffix –ose is used to denote the name of a
saccharide
 Carbohydrates
 Foods high in carbohydrates include fruits,
sweets, rice, bread, pastas, beans, potatoes,
cereals, etc.

 Sugar, starch, and cellulose are group of

carbohydrates (made up of the elements C,
H, O, produce by green plants through the
process of photosynthesis
 Carbohydrate Facts
 Serve 2 main functions:
1. Source of chemical energy for cells in many living
things.
2. Part of the structural material of plants
 Two Types of Carbohydrates

MICROMOLECULE -
Monosaccharide
MACROMOLECULE- Simple
Disaccharide and Sugar
Polysaccharide

STARCH CELLULOSE
 TYPE OF CARBOHYDRATES-
MONOSACCHARIDES
 Simplest carbohydrates
 The only sugar that can be absorbed and
utilized by the body
 Glucose, fructose (fruit sugar) and
galactose,each bearing the molecular formula
of C6H12O6
 EXAMPLES OF
MONOSACCHARIDES
 MONOSACCHARIDES -
GLUCOSE
 Greek word “sweetwine”, grape sugar, blood sugar dextrose
 Sometimes referred to as dextrose

 Most important and also most abundant monosaccharide in

nature
 Found in the bloodstream and provides immediate source of
energy of the body’s cells and tissues
 May exist both in chain and cyclic
 MONOSACCHARIDES -
FRUCTOSE
 Latin name for fruit, “Fructus”

 Fruit sugar- found in fruits

 Sweetest among all sugars

 Also found in the nectar of flowers, molasses and

honey
 MONOSACCHARIDES -
GALACTOSE
 Greek word for milk, found as component of milk

 Does not occur freely in nature

 Produce in the body through the digestion of a

disaccharide lactose
 STRUCTURES OF
MONOSACCHARIDES
 TYPE OF CARBOHYDRATES-
DISACCHARIDES
 Contain two monosaccharide units bound
together by a covalent bond known as
glycosidic linkage.

 All disaccharides has a molecular formula of

C12H22O11
 EXAMPLES OF
DISACCHARIDES
 DISACCHARIDES - SUCROSE
 Composed of one molecule of each of the two
monosaccharides

Glucose + Fructose

 Also known as table sugar found in sugar beets

and sugarcane
DISACCHARIDES - MALTOSE

 Also known as malt sugar

Glucose + Glucose
 DISACCHARIDES - LACTOSE
 Also known as milk sugar

 Cannot be directly utilized by the body unless

broken down into monosaccharide

Glucose + Galactose
STRUCTURES OF
DISACCHARIDES
 TYPE OF CARBOHYDRATES-
POLYSACCHARIDES
 Carbohydrates that contain at least10
monosaccharides

 Examples are starch, glycogen, and cellulose

 TYPES OF
POLYSACCHARIDES
TYPE OF POLYSACCHARIDES
- HOMOPOLYSACCHARIDES
 Formed by the same type of
monosaccharide

 Starch, glycogen and cellulose are formed

by hundreds of molecules of just one type
of monosaccharide
 Starch Examples

Potatoes Wheat Corn

TYPE OF POLYSACCHARIDES
- HETEROPOLYSACCHARIDES
 Major components of the plants’ cell wall,
cellulose
 Cellulose has a structure of a glucose in
beta configuration while starch is in alpha.
 TYPE OF POLYSACCHARIDES
- HETEROPOLYSACCHARIDES
 This is the reason why starch is an important
food material, while cellulose is not, it
cannot be digested by man, only animals
like cows and horses can digest them as
these animals have bacteria in their rumens
whose enzyme can break down the molecule
of cellulose.
 What is a good source of
carbohydrates?
 Fruits are the ideal source of carbohydrates.
As starches are polysaccharides, Fructose
found in fruits are monosaccharides, which
would only mean that sugar in fruits can pass
through the stomach and can be easily
absorbed by the walls of the intestine without
requiring any digestion at all. This leaves
more of the body’s energy available for other
activities.
 Did you know that?
Marathon runners, tri-athletes, cyclists like Lance
Armstrong, and other endurance runners eat
carbohydrates for weeks leading up to a big event.
They call it “ carbo-loading” . Even high school
athletes occasionally have “ pasta feeds” the night
before a big game. What’s the point? As the athletes
consume massive amounts of starch and pasta, the
energy begins to store up in their body, saving itself
for use during the event.
 While we need carbohydrates to supply our
energy, it does not guarantee a fit and
healthy body. We also need other nutrients
such as proteins, water, vitamins and
minerals.