Metabolism 1 Flashcards
What is the general molecular formula for carbohydrates?
[C(H2O)]n (‘hydrated carbon’)
n equal to/> 3
How are carbohydrates classified?
- Monosaccharides (1 monomeric unit)
- Disaccharides (2 monomeric units)
- Oligosaccharides (3-10 monomeric units)
- Polysaccharides (>10 monomeric units)
What types of carbohydrates are in a typical healthy human diet?
Polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates) e.g. starch which need to be broken down in order to be absorbed
What is the suffix ending names of monosaccharides?
‘-ose’
What are the ways in which monosaccharides can be classified?
- No. of C atoms (size) e.g. triose, tetrose, pentose, hexose
- Isomer (same atoms but bonded in a different 3D arrangement) e.g. D vs L
What do glucose, fructose and galactose have in common?
They are all hexoses with different arrangements of the same atoms i.e. isomers
What isomer are the most important sugars?
D-isomers
What happens to longer-chain monosaccharides? Give some examples.
They form cyclic molecules pentoses + hexoses (e.g. ribose, glucose)
Pentoses normally form 5-membered rings whilst hexoses form 6-membered rings but this is not always the case as O2 is part of the ring
What are some examples of important monosaccharides? Why are they important?
Trioses: dihydroxyacetone + G3P (important intermediates in energy metabolism i.e. glycolysis)
Pentoses: ribose + deoxyribose (crucial components of RNA + DNA)
Hexoses: glucose, galactose + fructose (found in important disaccharides/oligosaccharides)
How are disaccharides formed?
Reaction between 2 monosaccharides which eliminates H2O + forms a glycosidic bond
What are examples of important disaccharides? How are they formed?
Sucrose = glucose + fructose
Lactose = galactose + glucose
Maltose = glucose + glucose (breakdown product of starch/glycogen)
Give examples of some important poly/oligosaccharides.
Starch (obtained in diet from plant sources)
Cellulose (linear polymer of glucose that is a component of fibre present in diet from plant sources but not digestible in humans due to lack of cellulase enzyme)
Glycogen (extensively branched polymer of glucose obtained in diet from animal sources)
Dextrin (branched oligomer of glucose that is a breakdown product of starch + glycogen)
What is starch made up of?
75% amylopectin (branched polymer of glucose formed by α-1,4 + α-1,6 glycosidic bonds)
25% amylose (linear polymer of glucose formed by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds only)
What are the main types of biologically important lipids?
FAs
Triglycerides (TAGs)
Cholesterol
Cholesterol esters
What are fatty acids?
Hydrocarbon chains of various lengths
How are fatty acids classified?
Considered long chain if >12C + very long chain if >22C
Saturated or unsaturated (at least 1 C=C bond)
Fatty acids + ___ = triglycerides
Glycerol
What are the different types of fatty acid nomenclature?
- Most descriptive: C#1:#2(Δ#,#…) - #1 (total no. of Cs), #2 (no. of double bonds) + numbers in brackets (Cs where double bond occurs counting from acidic end)
- Describing position of final double bound from hydrocarbon end: ω-# (‘omega-#’)