intro to carbs Flashcards
What is the most abundant molecule in nature?
carbohydrates
function of carbs in humans
- significant fraction of dietary calories
- major energy source
- storage form of energy (glycogen)
- cell membrane components that mediate some forms of intercellular communication and retain water
structural component of many organisms
- cell walls of bacteria
- exoskeleton of insects (chitin)
- fibrous cellulose of plant cell wall (indigestible)
stoichiometric formula
(CH2O)n
consists of carbon and water in ratio of C:H:O= 1:2:1
monosaccharides
- 1 unit
- simple sugars
- glucose and fructose
disaccharides
-2 monosaccharide units
oligosaccharides
3-10 monosaccharide units
polysaccharides
more than 10 monosaccharide units
monosaccharide classification
- according to the number of carbons they contain
2. according to the type of there most oxidized functional group
isomers
compounds that have the same chemical formula but different structures
gluctose, fructose, mannose, and galactose are all structural isomers
epimers
compounds that differ in the configuration around only one specific carbon atom
glucose and galactose are C-4 epimers
glucose and mannose are C-2
enantiomers
pairs of structures that are mirror image to each other
D-glucose and L-glucose
D-glucose
found in nature
L-glucose
cannot be metabolized
monosaccharides: cyclization
> 99% of monosaccharides with 5 or more carbons exist as a ring, in which the aldehyde or kept group has reacted with an alcohol group of the same sugar
creates an anemic carbon (isomer) that can exist in either alpha or beta form
pyranose
6 membered ring with 5 carbons and one oxygen
Furanose
5 membered ring with 4 carbons and one oxygen
enzyme specificity of anomeric monosaccharides
they are specific to one of the anemic forms
Glycosidic bonds
bonds that link sugars
Beta gycosidic
beta(1-4)
alpha glycosidic
alpha(1-4)
alpha (1-6)
lactose
glucose + galactose
Beta (1-4)