Introduction to

carbohydrates
Chapter 7
Associate Professor Dr. Saad Allahham
Aims to be achieved after this
lecture
• Carbohydrates definition
• Carbohydrates functions
• Carbohydrate types and structure
• Monosaccharide classification and structure
• number of carbon atoms
• placement of the carbonyl group
• Isomers.
• Disaccharides
• Oligosaccharides
• Polysaccharides
• Digestion of carbohydrates
• The principal sites of digestion
• Enzymes catalyze carbohydrate digestion
• Intestinal absorption of monosaccharide
• Abnormal degradation of disaccharides
Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrates: composed of carbon (C) and
hydrate (H2O)

• the Chemical formula of the monomers is (CH2O)n

n ≥ 3. they are polyhydroxy (OH) aldehydes and
ketones (COOH) .

• Carbohydrates are the most abundant organic

molecules in nature.
Functions of carbohydrates
• providing dietary calories for most
organisms
• Store of energy
• Cell cell recognition
• Raw materials to build biomolecules (DNA,
RNA, linked to proteins and lipids)
• structural component of many organisms
• cell walls of bacteria, the exoskeleton of many insects,
and the fibrous cellulose of plants
Structure of carbohydrates

• Monosaccharides (CH2O)n n ≥ 3

• Disaccharides, 2 monosaccharides

• Oligosaccharides, 3-12 monosaccharides

• Polysaccharides, up to 1000s monosaccharides

Monosaccharides
• Monomer – monosaccharide

• Can be classified according to

• number of carbon atoms
• Depending on the placement of the carbonyl group they
may be aldoses or ketoses
• Isomers.
Common monosaccharides found in human
Classified according to No. of C
Aldoses (Aldehyde Sugars) Ketoses (Ketone Sugars)
Trioses: 3-carbon sugars (C3H6O3)

Glyceraldehyde Dihydroxyacetone

Pentoses: 5-carbon sugars (C5H10O5)

Ribose Ribulose

Hexoses: 6-carbon sugars (C6H12O6)

Glucose Galactose Fructose

Aldoses (Aldehyde Sugars) Ketoses (Ketone Sugars)
Trioses: 3-carbon sugars (C3H6O3)

Glyceraldehyde Dihydroxyacetone

Pentoses: 5-carbon sugars (C5H10O5)

Ribose Ribulose

Hexoses: 6-carbon sugars (C6H12O6)

Glucose Galactose Fructose

Isomers

• Are compounds that have the same

chemical formula but have different
structures
• Epimers, are carbohydrate isomers
that differ in configuration around
only one specific carbon atom (with
the exception of the carbonyl carbon)
Isomers continue
• Enantiomers, isomers that are mirror
images of each other
• the D isomeric form, the –OH group on
the asymmetric carbon farthest from
the carbonyl carbon is on the right,
whereas in the L-isomer it is on the left
• Majority of sugars in human are D
sugars
 Carbohydrate Structure
• Disaccharides – 2 sugars joined by a condensation reaction to
form a glycosidic bond.
• Common disaccharides
• Maltose: composed of ??
• Sucrose: composed of??
• Lactose: composed of ?? Β 1-4.
α 1–4
glycosidic
linkage

1 4

Glucose Glucose Maltose

αβ1–2
glycosidic
linkage
1 2

Glucose Fructose Sucrose

Carbohydrate Structure
• Oligosaccharides, from 3 to 12 monosaccharides
• glycoproteins

• Polysaccharides consist of many monosaccharides

joined together by glycosidic bonds.
• Common polysaccharides.
• Starch
• Glucose polymer
• 2 types
• Amylose – straight chains
• Amylopectin – branched chains
• Glycogen
• Glucose polymer
• Highly branched chains of glucose units
• Cellulose
• Beta Glucose polymer which results in different glycosidic bond
Figure 5.6

Chloroplast Starch granules

Amylopectin

Amylose
(a) Starch: 1 m
a plant polysaccharide

Mitochondria Glycogen granules

Glycogen
(b) Glycogen: 0.5 m
an animal polysaccharide
Digestion of dietary
carbohydrates
• The principal sites of
dietary carbohydrate
digestion are
1. mouth
2. intestinal lumen
Digestion of dietary carbohydrates

• Carbohydrate digestion is catalyzed by enzymes

known as glycoside hydrolases (glycosidases) that
hydrolyze glycosidic bonds.
1. Endoglycosidases that hydrolyze polysaccharides and
oligosaccharides
2. Disaccharidases that hydrolyse tri- and disaccharides
• The final products of carbohydrate digestion are
the monosaccharides.
Mouth
• Salivary α-amylase acts briefly on dietary
starch and glycogen, hydrolyzing random
α(1→4) bonds.
• Because branched amylopectin and
glycogen also contain α(1→6) bonds, which
α-amylase cannot hydrolyze, the digest
resulting from its action contains a mixture
of short, branched and unbranched
oligosaccharides known as dextrins
• Disaccharides are resistant to amylase
• Carbohydrate digestion halts temporarily in
the stomach, because?
 Small intestine
• Pancreatic secretions to small intestine
• Bicarbonate
• α-amylase
• Small intestine
• The final step occurs mainly at the mucosal lining
(mucosal cells) of the upper jejunum via several
disaccharidases
• lactase (β-galactosidase): cleaves lactose 
galactose and glucose
• Sucrase: cleaves sucrose glucose and fructose
• Maltase: cleaves maltose+maltotriose  glucose
• Isomaltase: cleaves the α(1→6) bond  glucose
• trehalase cleavesTrehalose, an α(1→1) disaccharide
of glucose found in mushrooms and other fungi,
• Cellulose is not digested by human.
 Intestinal absorption of
monosaccharides

• The duodenum and upper jejunum absorb the

bulk of the dietary sugars
• Absorption (transporting) mechanisms
• sodium-dependent monosaccharide cotransportation:
• sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT-1), couples
the absorption of glucose with Na cotransportation according
to Na gradient. Need energy it moves against gradient.
Glucose and galactose are transported into the mucosal cells
by SGLT1
Intestinal absorption of
monosaccharides cont.
• sodium-independent monosaccharide transport
• glucose movement follows a concentration gradient. Facilitated
diffusion
• Fructose uptake requires GLUT-5 for its absorption in small
intestine
• All three monosaccharides are transported from the intestinal
mucosal cell into the portal circulation by GLUT-2
• GLUT-2, also found in the liver and kidney, can either transport
glucose into these cells when blood glucose levels are high, or
transport glucose from these cells when blood glucose levels
are low
• GLUT-1, GLUT -3, and GLUT-4 for glucose uptake from the
blood.
 Abnormal degradation of
disaccharides
• any defect in a specific disaccharidase activity of
the intestinal mucosa (genetic or acquired)
causes the passage of undigested carbohydrate
into the large intestine.
• The presence of this osmotically active material
cause water to be drawn from the mucosa into
the large intestine, causing osmotic diarrhea.
• This is reinforced by the bacterial fermentation
of the remaining carbohydrate to two- and three-
carbon compounds (which are also osmotically
active) plus large volumes of CO2 and H2 gas,
causing abdominal cramps, diarrhea and
flatulence
 Abnormal degradation of
disaccharides
• Most common deficiency is lactose intolerance
• >70% in the world, 90% in Africa and Asia
• Majority is an age dependent loss of lactase activity, very rare
congenital deficiency
• Treatment include reduce milk and increase yogurt and
cheese consumption and vegetables
• congenital Sucrase-isomaltase deficiency
• It is an autosomal recessive disorder results in an intolerance
of ingested sucrose
• Treatment includes dietary restriction of sucrose and enzyme
replacement therapy
• Diagnosis?
• oral tolerance tests
• Measurement of H gas in the breath is a reliable test for determining the
amount of ingested carbohydrate not absorbed by the body, but which is
metabolized instead by the intestinal flora
 Abnormal degradation of
disaccharides cont.
• Alterations in disaccharide degradation can also
be caused by a variety of intestinal diseases,
malnutrition, or drugs that injure the mucosa of
the small intestine.
•  example, brush border enzymes are rapidly
lost in normal individuals with severe diarrhea,
causing a temporary, acquired enzyme deficiency.
Did we achieve our aims?
• Carbohydrates definition
• Carbohydrates functions
• Carbohydrate types and structure
• Monosaccharide classification and structure
• number of carbon atoms
• placement of the carbonyl group
• Isomers.
• Disaccharides
• Oligosaccharides
• Polysaccharides
• Digestion of carbohydrates
• The principal sites of digestion
• Enzymes catalyze carbohydrate digestion
• Intestinal absorption of monosaccharide
• Abnormal degradation of disaccharides
Questions
Questions
Questions
Questions