Reporter#1 : Karla Mae Monacillo (20)

BIOMOLECULES
Biomolecules
- also called biological molecule, any of numerous substances that are produced by cells and living
organism.
- Have a wide range of sizes and structures and perform a vast array of functions.
- Came from the food that we eat
- The four major types of biomolecule are the following:
o Carbohydrates (CHO)
 Most abundant molecule on Earth
 Energy sources & structural component of all life.
o Lipids (CHO)
 Stored energy & acting as chemical messenger
 Form membrane that separate cell from their environment &
compartmentalize the cell interior
o Proteins (CHON)
 Major structure of the cell
 Control & transport the nutrients inside and outside the cell
 For muscle buildup
 Serve as an enzyme or catalysts for cell reactions
 Form antibodies hormones and gene activities
o Nucleic Acid (CHONP)
 Storing the organism genetic code
 Genetic Code : made up of sequence of nucleotide that
determine the amino acid sequence of proteins
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates
- Are made up primarily of molecules containing atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
- The general formula of Carbohydrates: Cx(H20)Y
- Also known as “watered carbon” due to it’s general formula
- Are essential energy sources and structural components of all life, and they are among the most
abundant biomolecules in Earth.
- They are built from four types of sugar units: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and
polysaccharide
Function and importance of Carbohydrates
- The energy stores of most animals and plants are both carbohydrate and lipid in nature
- carbohydrates are generally available as an immediate energy source, whereas lipids act as a
long-term energy resource and tend to be utilized at a slower rate
- Glucose, the prevalent uncombined, or free, sugar circulating in the blood of higher animals, is
essential to cell function.
- The proper regulation of glucose metabolism is of paramount importance to survival.
Test for Specific Carbohydrates (Seliwanoff’s test, Bial’s test and Iodine test)
1. Seliwanoff’s test
Principle of Seliwanoff’s test:
Seliwanoff’s test is used to distinguish aldoses from ketoses. On treatment with
conc. Acid, ketoses are dehydrated more rapidly to give furfural derivatives and on
 condensation with resorcinol give cherry red complex. The test will be answered by
fructose, sucrose and other keto containing carbohydrates

Positive seliwanoff’s test: Fructose and sucrose

Negative seliwanoff’s test: glucose, distilled water

2. Bial’s Test

Principle of Bial’s test:

Bial’s test is useful in distinguishing pentoses sugar from hexoses sugars.

Pentosses ( such as ribose sugar) form furfural in acidic medium which condense with
orcinol in presence of ferric ion to give blue green colored complex which is soluble in
butyl alcohol.

Positive Bial’s test: formation of blue color ( eg. Ribose sugar)

 Negative Bial’s test: formation of any other color indicates negative test. Hexose
sugar ( glucose, fructose) generally gives green, red or brown color product.

3. Iodine Test

Principle of Iodine test for carbohydrate:

Starch when reacted with I2 forms absorbed compound that gives blue color. On heating or on addition
of alkali like NaOH or KIH, color disappears. This reaction is only physically association where I2 traps in
the coiled structure of polysaccharide. On heating or on addition of alkali; the coiled structure becomes
linear and the I2 molecules are released and the color disappears. The test will be answered by fructose,
sucrose and other keto containing carbohydrates.

Positive iodine test: dark blue color (starch)

Negative iodine test: glucose, fructose and sucrose
 MONOSACCHARIDE
Monosaccharide
-also called simple sugar, any of the basic compounds that serve as the building blocks of
carbohydrates.
-Monosaccharides are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones; that is, they are molecules with more
than one hydroxyl group (−OH), and a carbonyl group (C=O) either at the terminal carbon atom
(aldose) or at the second carbon atom (ketose). The carbonyl group combines in aqueous
solution with one hydroxyl group to form a cyclic compound (hemi-acetal or hemi-ketal). The
resulting monosaccharide is a crystalline water-soluble solid.
-Monosaccharides are classified by the number of carbon atoms in the molecule; dioses have
two, trioses have three, tetroses four, pentoses five, hexoses six, and heptoses seven. Most
contain five or six. The most-important pentoses include xylose, found combined as xylan in
woody materials; arabinose from coniferous trees; ribose, a component of ribonucleic acids
(RNA) and several vitamins; and deoxyribose, a component of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
Among the most-important aldohexoses are glucose, mannose, and galactose; fructose is a
ketohexose.

Glucose “Dextrose” “Blood Sugar”

- Molecular Formula C6H1206
- Major free sugar circulating in our blood
- Important in metabolism
- Energy fuel of cell function
- Example: starch from plants, cellulose, dextrose/ D-glucose
Galactose “lactose” “milk sugar”
- Molecular Formula C6H1206
- Same pattern as glucose
- Binds with glucose to form sugar in milk
- Once combined or inside the body, galactose is converted to glucose to provide energy
Fructose “The fruit sugar”
- Molecular Formula C6H1206
- The sweetest of all sugars
- 1.5 x sweeter than sucrose
- Found in fruits and honey
ALDOSES AND KETOSES
Basis of Distinction Aldose Ketose
Definition The monosaccharide that only A monosaccharide that has a
has one aldehyde group in each ketone group in each molecule
molecule and becomes a pure that contains three carbon
sugar. atoms.
Example D-Glucose D-fructose
Convertibility May decompose into ketose May decompose into aldose
depending on the isomerization only if there exists a separate
reaction. carbonyl group at the end of
each atom.
Seliwanoff’s Test Light Pink color Dark red color.