Lesson On Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the most abundant class of organic compunds found in living things.
They are
composed of Carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). They have an H:C:O ratio of 2:1:1, which is based
on their general formula C (H O) . Carbohydrates include sugars, starches, cellulose, and many other
compounds in organisms. They are either formed from or decomposed into other carbohydrates forms
through the physiological processes in plants and animals.
During photosynthesis in plants, carbon dioxide and water combine to form the sugar, glucose. This
process requires energy in the form of sunlight. It is represent by the equation
When animals, including humans, eat cellulose or starch, the substance is broken down into glucose units,
which are carried by the blood to the liver, where they are recombined to form glycogen (animal starch)
is stored. If the body needs energy, the glycogen can be broken down again into glucose, which is then
transferred to the tissues, where it is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, a process that releases energy.
Some of the glucose is converted into fats; some react with nitrogen containing compounds to form amino
acids, which in turn are combined to manufacture protein that comprise the animal body.
The primary functons of carbohydrates in living organisms are as follows:
 Substrate for respiration or source of energy

 Intermediate substances in respiration (e.g., glyceraldehydes)
 Energy storage (e.g., starch and glycogen)
 Structure (e.g., chitin in arthropod exoskeletons and fungal walls)
 Transport (e.g., sucrose transported in the phloem of a plant)
 Recognition of molecules that pass through the cell membrane
Classification of Carbohydrates
The most basic units of carbohydrate are simple sugar or monosaccharides. When two simple sugars
combine, the resulting carbohydrate is a disaccharide. A long chain of repeating units of monosaccharides
makes up a polysaccharide.
SIMPLE CARBOHYDATES
Monosaccharides are simple sugars- the most basic unit of a carbohydrate. At room temperature, these
sugars are crystalline white solids. Because they have hydroxyl groups (-OH) in their molecular structure,
they are polar and therefore very soluble in water.
Pentoes, such as ribose and ribulose, are used in the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and (DNA), co-
enzymes, and (ATP). Hexoes, like glucose and fructose, are utilllized as energy sources for respiration
and as building blocks of larger molecules.
Disaccharides
Two monosaccharide molecules may chemically bond to form a disaccharide. The name given to the
covalent bond between the two monosaccharides is a glycosidic bond. Glycosidic bonds form between
hydroxyl groups of the two saccharide molecules, an example of the dehydration synthesis described in
the previous section of this chapter:
monosaccharide−OH+HO−monosaccharide⟶monosaccharide−O−monosaccharide
Common disaccharides are the grain sugar maltose, made of two glucose molecules; the milk sugar
lactose, made of a galactose and a glucose molecule; and the table sugar sucrose, made of a glucose
and a fructose molecule.
Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides, also called glycans, are large polymers composed of hundreds of monosaccharide
monomers. Unlike mono- and disaccharides, polysaccharides are not sweet and, in general, they are not
soluble in water. Like disaccharides, the monomeric units of polysaccharides are linked together by
glycosidic bonds.
Polysaccharides are very diverse in their structure. Three of the most biologically important
polysaccharides—starch, glycogen, and cellulose—are all composed of repetitive glucose units,
although they differ in their structure (Figure 4). Cellulose consists of a linear chain of glucose molecules
and is a common structural component of cell walls in plants and other organisms. Glycogen and starch
are branched polymers; glycogen is the primary energy-storage molecule in animals and bacteria,
whereas plants primarily store energy in starch. The orientation of the glycosidic linkages in these three
polymers is different as well and, as a consequence, linear and branched macromolecules have different
properties.
Carbohydrates play a key role in energy production and storage, functions that can be best explained by
looking through the processes involved in the digestion of rice, which is good source of polysaccharide
starch. The starch in rice is considered a storage energy. When we chemically digest rice, the starch is
broken into glucose units, which supply the energy for our activities. When the body is physically
inactive, the glucose is temporarily converted to glycogen, which is stored in the liver for later use.
Sucrose,a lso known as table sugar or cane sugar, is found in many plants. Lactose or mil sugar, is
composed of glucose and galactose. Maltose, which is made up of two glucose units, is the initial
product of the digestion of starch, and is broken down to glucose, which is absorbed in the small
intestine. These 3 disaccharides have the molecular formula C H O .
Sucrose = glucose + fructose
Lactose = galactose + glucose
Maltose = glucose + glucose

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Carbohydrates are the most abundant class of organic compunds found in living things.

The primary functons of carbohydrates in living organisms are as follows:

 Substrate for respiration or source of energy

Sucrose = glucose + fructose

Lactose = galactose + glucose

Maltose = glucose + glucose

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