CARBOHYDRATES: DEFINITION, CLASSIFICATION AND FUNCTIONS

CarbohydratesCarbohydrates, together with lipids, proteins and nucleic acids, are one of the four major
classes of biologically essential organic molecules found in all living organisms.

Carbohydrates, all coming from the process of photosynthesis, represent the major part of organic
substance on Earth, are the most abundant organic components in the major part of fruits, vegetables,
legumes and cereal grains, carry out many functions in all living organisms and are the major energy
source in a Mediterranean-type diet. Finally, they provide flavor and texture in many processed foods.

CONTENTS

Chemical classification of carbohydrates

Physiological classification of carbs

Functions

References

Chemical classification of carbohydrates

Carbohydrates, also called Carbs, are defined as aldehydic or ketonic compounds with a some number of
oxydrilic groups (so polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones as well).

Many of them, but not all, have general formula (CH2O)n (only molecules with n>4 are considered
carbohydrates); some, in addition to carbon (C), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H), include nitrogen or sulfur.

On the basis of the number of forming units, three major classes of carbohydrates can be defined:
monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharides or simply sugars are formed by only one polyhydroxy aldehydeidic or ketonic unit.

The most abundant monosaccharide is D-glucose, also called dextrose.

Oligosaccharides are formed by short chains of monosaccharidic units (from 2 to 20) linked one to the
next by chemical bounds, called glycosidic bounds.

The most abundant oligosaccharides are disaccharides, formed by two monosaccharides, and especially
in the human diet the most important are sucrose (common table sugar), lactose and maltose. Within
cells many oligosaccharides formed by three or more units do not find themselves as free molecules but
linked to other ones, lipids or proteins, to form glycoconjugates.

Polysaccharides are polymers consisting of 20 to 107 monosaccharidic units; they differ each other for
the monosaccharides recurring in the structure, for the length and the degree of branching of chains or
for the type of links between units.

Whereas in the plant kingdom several types of polysaccharides are present, in vertebrates there are only
a small number.

Polysaccharides are defined

omopolysaccharides if they contain only one type of monosaccharide as starch, glycogen and chitin;

eteropolysaccharides, instead, contain two or more different kinds (e.g. hyaluronic acid).

Note: the term “saccharide” derives from the greek word “sakcharon”, which means sugar.

Physiological classification of carbs

On the basis of their degree of polymerization, they can be classified as:

simple: mono- and disaccharides (also known as “sugars”) and tri- and tetrasaccharides
(oligosaccharides);

complex: the polysaccharides.

A further classification lays the foundations on the possibility of being used directly for energy purpose,
so:
available, as glucose, fructose, galactose between monosaccharides, sucrose, lactose, maltose and
maltodextrin between oligosaccharides, and starch and glycogen between polysaccharides;

not available, as xylose (monosaccharide), lactulose (see lactose) and raffinose (respectively di- and
trisaccharide), fiber (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectins etc.) and resistant or not digestible starch
(polysaccharides). The members of this class, also if ingested, are not digestible nor absorbable and will
be fermented by intestinal flora with release of short chain fatty acids and so yielding some energy.

Functions

They are used as material for energy storage and production.

Starch and glycogen, respectively in plants and animals, are stored carbohydrates from which glucose
can be mobilized for energy production. Glucose can supply energy both fueling ATP synthesis (ATP, the
cell’s energy currency, has inside a phosphorylated sugar) and in the form of reducing power as NADPH.

It should be noted that glucose, used as energy source, “burns” without yielding metabolic wastes, being
turned in CO2 and water, and of course releasing energy.

Monosaccharides supply 3.74 kcal/g, disaccharides 3.95 kcal/g, while starch 4.18 kcal/g; on average it is
approached to 4 kcal/g.

They exert a protein-saving action: if present in adequate amount in daily nourishment, the body does
not utilize proteins for energy purpose, an anti-economic and “polluting” fuel because it will need to
eliminate nitrogen (ammonia) and sulfur present in some aminoacids.

Their presence is necessary for the normal lipid metabolism. More than 100 years ago Pasteur said: “Fats
burn in the fire of carbohydrates“. This idea continues to receive confirmations from the recent scientific
studies. Moreover, excess carbohydrates may be converted in fatty acids and triglycerides (processes that
occur mostly in the liver).

Glucose is indispensable for the maintenance of the integrity of nervous tissue (some central nervous
system areas are able to use only glucose for energy production) and red blood cells.

Two sugars, ribose and deoxyribose, are part of the bearing structure, respectively of the RNA and DNA
and obviously find themselves in the nucleotide structure as well.

They take part in detoxifying processes. For example, at hepatic level glucuronic acid, synthesized from
glucose, combines with endogenous substances, as hormones, bilirubin etc., and exogenous substances,
as chemical or bacterial toxins or drugs, making them atoxic, increasing their solubility and allowing their
elimination.
They are also found linked to many proteins and lipids. Within cells they act as signals that determine the
metabolic fate or the intracellular localization of the molecules which are bound. On the cellular surface
their presence is necessary for identification processes between cells that are involved e.g. in the
recognition between spermatozoon and oocyte during fertilization, in the return of lymphocytes in the
lymph nodes of provenance or still in the leukocyte adhesion to the lips of the lesion of a blood vessel.

Two homopolysaccharides, cellulose (the most abundant polysaccharide in nature) and chitin (probably,
next to cellulose, the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature), serve as structural elements,
respectively, in plant cell walls and exoskeletons of nearly a million species of arthropods (e.g. insects,
lobsters, and crabs).

Heteropolysaccharides provide extracellular support for organisms of all kingdoms: in bacteria, the rigid
layer of the cell wall is composed in part of a heteropolysaccharide contained two alternating
monosaccharide units while in animals the extracellular space is occupied by several types of
heteropolysaccharides, which form a matrix with numerous functions, as hold individual cells together a
wend provide protection, support, and shape to cells, tissues, and organs

Carbohydrate, class of naturally occurring compounds and derivatives formed from them. In the early
part of the 19th century, substances such as wood, starch, and linen were found to be composed mainly
of molecules containing atoms of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) and to have the general
formula C6H12O6; other organic molecules with similar formulas were found to have a similar ratio of
hydrogen to oxygen. The general formula Cx(H2O)y is commonly used to represent many carbohydrates,
which means “watered carbon

Carbohydrates are probably the most abundant and widespread organic substances in nature, and they
are essential constituents of all living things. Carbohydrates are formed by green plants from carbon
dioxide and water during the process of photosynthesis. Carbohydrates serve as energy sources and as
essential structural components in organisms; in addition, part of the structure of nucleic acids, which
contain genetic information, consists of carbohydrate.
Although a number of classification schemes have been devised for carbohydrates, the division into four
major groups—monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides—used here is
among the most common. Most monosaccharides, or simple sugars, are found in grapes, other fruits,
and honey. Although they can contain from three to nine carbon atoms, the most common
representatives consist of five or six joined together to form a chainlike molecule. Three of the most
important simple sugars—glucose (also known as dextrose, grape sugar, and corn sugar), fructose (fruit
sugar), and galactose—have the same molecular formula, (C6H12O6), but, because their atoms have
different structural arrangements, the sugars have different characteristics; i.e., they are isomers.

The energy in the chemical bonds of glucose indirectly supplies most living things with a major part of
the energy that is necessary for them to carry on their activities. Galactose, which is rarely found as a
simple sugar, is usually combined with other simple sugars in order to form larger molecules.

Two molecules of a simple sugar that are linked to each other form a disaccharide, or double sugar. The
disaccharide sucrose, or table sugar, consists of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose;
the most familiar sources of sucrose are sugar beets and cane sugar. Milk sugar, or lactose, and maltose
are also disaccharides. Before the energy in disaccharides can be utilized by living things, the molecules
must be broken down into their respective monosaccharides. Oligosaccharides, which consist of three to
six monosaccharide units, are rather infrequently found in natural sources, although a few plant
derivatives have been identified.

Polysaccharides (the term means many sugars) represent most of the structural and energy-reserve
carbohydrates found in nature. Large molecules that may consist of as many as 10,000 monosaccharide
units linked together, polysaccharides vary considerably in size, in structural complexity, and in sugar
content; several hundred distinct types have thus far been identified. Cellulose, the principal structural
component of plants, is a complex polysaccharide comprising many glucose units linked together; it is
the most common polysaccharide. The starch found in plants and the glycogen found in animals also are
complex glucose polysaccharides. Starch (from the Old English word stercan, meaning “to stiffen”) is
found mostly in seeds, roots, and stems, where it is stored as an available energy source for plants. Plant
starch may be processed into foods such as bread, or it may be consumed directly—as in potatoes, for
instance. Glycogen, which consists of branching chains of glucose molecules, is formed in the liver and
muscles of higher animals and is stored as an energy source.

The generic nomenclature ending for the monosaccharides is -ose; thus, the term pentose (pent = five) is
used for monosaccharides containing five carbon atoms, and hexose (hex = six) is used for those
containing six. In addition, because the monosaccharides contain a chemically reactive group that is
either an aldehyde group or a keto group, they are frequently referred to as aldopentoses or
ketopentoses or aldohexoses or ketohexoses. The aldehyde group can occur at position 1 of an
aldopentose, and the keto group can occur at a further position (e.g., 2) within a ketohexose. Glucose is
an aldohexose—i.e., it contains six carbon atoms, and the chemically reactive group is an aldehyde
group.

Carbohydrates

The term carbohydrate is itself a combination of the “hydrates of carbon”. They are also known as
“Saccharides” which is a derivation of the Greek word “Sakcharon” meaning sugar. The definition of
carbohydrates in chemistry is as follows:

“Optically active polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones or substances which give these on
hydrolysis are termed as carbohydrates”.

Some of the most common carbohydrates that we come across in our daily lives are in form of sugars.
These sugars can be in form of Glucose, Sucrose, Fructose, Cellulose, Maltose etc.

Browse more Topics under Biomolecule

Monosaccharides

Disaccharides

Polysaccharides

Structure of Proteins

Amino Acids

Enzymes

Vitamins

Nucleic Acids

Structure of Nucleic Acids

General Formula of Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates
The general formula for carbohydrate is Cx(H2O)y. Although, it must be remembered that this is just a
general formula. There are various exceptions to this that we will see. Let us take a look at Acetic Acid
which is CH3COOH. Now although this will fit in the general formula of carbohydrate i.e. Cx(H2O)y, we
know that acetic acid is not a carbohydrate.

Formaldehyde (HCHO) also falls under this category of this general formula but is also not a
carbohydrate. And on the other hand, Rhamnose (C6H12O6) which is very much a carbohydrate but
does not follow the general formula.

Video on Biomolecules

Classification of Carbohydrates

The main classification of carbohydrate is done on the basis of hydrolysis. This classification is as follow:

Monosaccharides: These are the simplest form of carbohydrate that cannot be hydrolyzed any further.
They have the general formula of (CH2O)n. Some common examples are glucose, Ribose etc.

Oligosaccharides: Carbohydrates that on hydrolysis yield two to ten smaller units or monosaccharides
are oligosaccharides. They are a large category and further divides into various subcategories.

Disaccharides: A further classification of oligosaccharides, these give two units of the same or different
monosaccharides on hydrolysis. For example, sucrose on hydrolysis gives one molecule of glucose and
fructose each. Whereas maltose on hydrolysis gives two molecules of only glucose,

Trisaccharides: Carbohydrates that on hydrolysis gives three molecules of monosaccharides, whether

same or different. An example is Raffinose.

Tetrasaccharides: And as the name suggests this carbohydrate on hydrolysis give four molecules of
monosaccharides. Stachyose is an example.

Polysaccharides: The final category of carbohydrates. These give a large number of monosaccharides
when they undergo hydrolysis, These carbohydrates are not sweet in taste and are also known as non-
sugars. Some common examples are starch, glycogen etc.

Importance of Carbohydrates

Now as we previously discussed, carbohydrates are absolutely essential for life on the planet. Let us take
a more detailed look at the importance of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are responsible for storing chemical energy in living organisms. You must hear all the time
when athletes carbo-load before a game. This is so they can provide themselves with extra energy. They
are also an important constituent for supporting tissues in plants and even in some animals.

As I am sure you are already aware of photosynthesis. It is the process by which plants utilize solar
energy to generate energy for themselves and food for us. Through this process, plants fix CO2 and
synthesize carbohydrate. Let us take a look at the chemical reaction occurring during photosynthesis.

x(CO2) + y(H2O) + Solar energy ⇒ Cx (H2O)y + O2

So carbohydrates due to photosynthesis are the repository of solar energy in plants, Then when plants or
animals metabolize the said carbohydrate this energy releases. The metabolizing equation is just the
reverse of the photosynthesis equation

Cx (H2O)y + O2 ⇒ x(CO2) + y(H2O) + Energy