carbohydrates

- using the sun’s energy and green pigment in the plants called chlorophyll, plants convert
carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen
- glucose is the basic sugar molecule from which all carbohydrates (sugars, starches, ber)
are made.
- Cn(H2O)n
- oligosaccharides are formed when a few monosaccharides are linked; polysaccharides are
formed when many monosaccharides are bonded together
- the reaction that adds monosaccharides units to a growing carbohydrate molecule involves
the loss of one H2O for each new link formed, accounting for the di erence in the general
formula

function:
- rst products formed in photosynthesis
- most commonly encountered carbs are polysaccharides, including glycogen (animals),
starch and cellulose (plants)
- major energy source
- oligosaccgarides play a key role in processes that take place on the surfaces of cells,
particularly in cell to cell interactions and immune recognition
- cellulose is a major component of grass and trees
structure
- the building blocks of all carbs are the simple sugars called monosaccharides
- monosaccharide can be polyhydroxy aldehyde (aldose) or a polyhydroxy ketone (ketose)
- the simplest monosaccharides can contain three carbon atoms and are called trioses
- six = most abundant in nature (carbon atom)
- ve = rna & dna (carbon sugars)
- four & seven = photosynthesis or other metabolic pathways
- STEREOISOMERS (OPTICAL ISOMERS) molecules that di er from each other only in their
con guration (3d shape)*u cannot change the structure*
- a chiral (asymmetric) carbon atom is the usual source of optical isomerism, as was the case
with amino acids. the simplest carbohydrate that contains a chiral carbon is glyceraldehyde,
which can exist in two isomeric forms that are mirror images of each other
- ENANTIOMERS mirror-image, nonsuperimposable stereoisomers
- CONFIGURATION - the 3d arrangement of groups around a chiral carbon atom
- FISCHER PROJECTION - a 2d representation of the stereochemistry of 3d molecules.
invented by Emil Fischer (con guration)
- vertical 2d, horizontal 3d
- DIASTEREOMERS - nonsuperimposable, non-mirror-image stereoisomers
- EPIMERS - stereoisomers that di er only in con guration around one of several chiral
carbon atoms

GEN. PROPERTIES OF CARBS

PHYSICAL
- mono and disaccharides are white crystalline substances, starches are amorphous powder
and cellulose are brous. mono and disaccharides are sweet, soluble. starches and cellulose
are tasteless
- solubility to ordinary solvents=mono and di are readily dissolved in water starched are
slightly soluble cellulose are insoluble

CHEMICAL
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1. reducing power
2. osazone formation
3. action of alkalies
4. action of acids

TYPES OF CARBS
simple carbs
- monosaccharides
- disaccharides
complex carbs
- oligosaccharides
- polysaccharides
MONOSACCHARIDES
- simple sugars containing one saccharide group
- they cannot change into simpler sugar upon hydrolysis
- is a carbohydrate that contains a single polyhydroxy aldehyde or polyhydroxy ketone unit
(fructose= 2 ch2oh)
- GLUCOSE
- most important sugar in human metabolism. aka “physiologic sugar”, dextrose, grape
sugar or corn
- it is somewhat less sweet than cane sugar snd is soluble in hot or cold water
- commercially prepared as corn syrup
- is the chief end product of the digestion of oligo and polysaccharides, in the form of carbs
circulating in the blood and it is the primary carb utilized by the body
- carb form used by the body, referred to as blood sugar
- basic sub-unit of other larger carbohydrate molecules found in fruits, veggies, honey
- is the main source of energy for cells and the only source of energy used by the brain
- the term blood sugar draws attention to the fact that blood dissolved glucose
- the normal conc of glucose in human blood is in the range 70-100mg/dL (1dL-100)
- the actual conc in blood is dependent on the time that has elapsed since the last meal
was eaten
- a conc of abt 130 mg/dL occurs in the rst hour after eating, and then the conc decreased
over the next 2-3 hrs back to normal range
- cells use glucose as a primary source of energy
- FRUCTOSE
- highly soluble sugar that does not readily crystallize. aka levulose or fruit sugar (semen,
urine)
- the sweetest of all sugars and is found in honey, ripe fruits, and some vegetables. it is the
product of hydrolysis of sucrose
- sweetest of sugars
- occurs naturally in fruits and honey, “fruit sugar” - combines with glucose to form sucrose
(disaccharide)
- GALACTOSE
- not found free in nature, its only source being form from the hydrolysis of lactose
- combines with glucose to form lactose, “milk sugar”
- MANNOSE
- of limited distribution in foods is poorly absorbed, and is of little consequence in nutrition
- RIBOSE
- of great physiologic importance as a constituent of ribo avin and ribonucleic acid and
deoxyribonucleic acid
- XYLOSE and ARABINOSE
- widely distributed in many root vegetables and fruits
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 DISACCHARIDE
- a carbohydrate that contains two monosaccharide units covalently bonded to each other
- double sugars, on hydrolysis, they yield two simpler sugar
SUCROSE + WATER = GLUCOSE + FRUCTOSE
LACTOSE + WATER = GLUCOSE + GALACTOSE
- are crystalline, water-soluble substances
- contains 2 monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bond
- Lactose (glucose + galactose) milk sugar
- D Maltose (glucose + glucose) malt sugar
- D Sucrose (glucose + fructose) table sugar
- SUCROSE
- “table sugar” found in molasses, maple sugar and sorghum and is prepared
commercially from sugar cane and beets
- sucrose cannot be absorbed by the intestine until it is converted by Sucrase into its
components yields glucose and fructose on hydrolysis
- MALTOSE
- malt or grain sugar, does not occur to any appreciable extent in foods. it is an
intermediate product in the hydrolsis of starch
- is produced in the malting and fermentation of grains and is present in beer and malted
breakfast cereals
- also used with dextrin as the source of carbohydrates for infant feeding as it is not
fermented ready
- hydrolyzed by maltase into two molecules of glucose
- LACTOSE
- “milk sugar” - produce in mammals and is the only carbohydrates of animal origin that
is signi cant in the diet
- least sweet among the common sugars and dissolves poorly in cold water
- slowly digested compared to other disaccharides. the conc of the lactose in milk varies
depending on the species of animal. 2 to 8%
- LACTOSE INTOLERANCE
- occurs as a result of insu cient lactase & low lactase activity
- lactose molecules from milk remain in the intestine undigested
- lactose intolerance + milk allergy undigested lactose digested by bacteria producing
irritating acid and gas
- symptoms include bloating, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea
- majority of adult humans lose ability to hydrolyze this compound, due to genetic
inability to produce lactose enzyme as adults
- they are lactose-introlerant, su er severe intestinal cramping when lactose is eaten
(bc the bacteria in gut now have access to it, generate gaseous and acid byproducts
by fermentation)
- lactose intolerance or lactose persistence = an inability of the human digestive
system yo hydrolyze lactose

OLIGOSACCHARIDES
- a carbohydrate that contains 3 to 10 monosaccharide units covalently bonded to each other
- “free” oligosaccharides are seldom encountered in biochemical system
- are usually associated with proteins and lipids in complex molecules that have both
structural and regulatory functions
- complete hydrolysis of an oligosaccharides produces several monosaccharides molecules
POLYSACCHARIDES
- complex sugar, on hydrolysis, they yield many simple sugars/mostly
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 - insoluble
- non-fermentable
- poly (means made up of several saccharide groups, 15+)
- STARCH GROUP, CELLULOSE
- such as cellulose and glycogen, consist of long chains of monosaccharides
- aka GLYCANS are long-chained polymers of carbohydrates and may be linear or branched
- classi ed as HOMOPOLYSACCHARIDES or HETEROPOLYSACCHARIDES
• STARCH
storage form of carbohydrates in plants mostly in grains, tubers, seeds, roots and unripe
fruits
starch is a valuable contributor to the energy content of diet
reserve food materials of plants
composed of two polymers Amylose (linear and water soluble) amylopectin (highly
branched and water soluble)
• DEXTRIN
intermediate products in the hydrolysis of starch and consist of shorter chains of glucose
units
some dextrins are produced when our is browned or bread is toasted
• GLYCOGEN
often called “animal starch” and is structurally similar to amylopectin but contains many
branched chain of glucose
is rapidly synthesized from glucose in the liver and muscles where it is stored
muscle glycogen is used to supply during exercise and work
liver glycogen is converted to glucose for circulation to di erent parts of the body
• CELLULOSE
indigestible polysaccharides which resistant to the digestive enzymes of man and
contributes bulk to the diet
cellulose, the structural components of plant cell walls, it is most abundant polysaccharide
the ‘woody’ portion of the plants-stems, stalks, and trunks. have particularly high conc of
their brous, water-insoluble substance
serves as the dietary bers
• HEMICELLULOSE
indigestible polysaccharides found in agar, pectins, woody bers, leaves and stems; can be
hydrolyzed by diluted acids
• PECTINS
found mostly in fruits. pectins possesses the property of forming bulk by absorbing large
amounts of liquid and swelling into a colloidal mass which exerts a laxative e ect (gelatin,
jams)
in food cookery, it is important as a thickener, binder, an in forming food gels
• INULIN
important in medicine and nursing as it provides a test for renal functions in the bulb of
onion and garlic
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