8 - Carbohydrates

University of San Agustin
General Luna St., Iloilo City 5000, Philippines

www.usa.edu.ph
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS, SCIENCES, AND EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
BB
MODULE 8:
CARBOHYDRATES
INTRODUCTION
Carbohydrates are commonly referred to as sugars, starches, and fibers found in fruits,
grains, vegetables and milk products. They are the main energy source of the human body and
most abundant class of organic compounds found in nature. Carbohydrates account for
approximately three fourths of the dry weight of plants. Animals (including humans) get their
carbohydrates by eating plants, but they do not store much of what they consume.
In this module, we will cover the classifications, structures and importance of
carbohydrates – one of the basic food groups and important to a healthy diet.
COURSE OUTCOMES
At the end of the course, the students shall be able to:

1. Describe the chemical structure that make up the components of living matter;
2. Describe the interactions of these components that give rise to the organized supramolecular
structures, cells and multicellular tissues;
3. Explain how living organisms extract energy from the surroundings to perpetuate life;
4. Explain how chemical reactions are regulated inside living cells;
5. Apply key concepts in biochemistry to explain its practical applications in the field of
nutrition, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy and allied fields.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the module, the students should be able to:

1. Classify the monosaccharides according to number of carbons, and anomeric carbon;
2. Classify the disaccharides according to the freedom of the anomeric carbon;
3. Identify important disaccharides and polysaccharides and their functions;
4. Determine the importance of carbohydrates in blood groups.
What is carbohydrate?
- means “hydrate of carbon” and derives from the formula Cn(H2O)n .

- are generally considered as substances made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
- polymers of polyhydroxyaldehydes and/or polyhydroxyketones, or compounds that
yield them after hydrolysis.
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Functions of Carbohydrates
1. It acts as storehouses of chemical energy for both plants and animals ( glucose, starch,
glycogen); are components of supportive structures in plants (cellulose), crustacean shells
(chitin), and connective tissues in animals ( acidic polysaccharides); and are essential
components of nucleic acids ( D-ribose and 2-deoxy-D-ribose). It forms part of the structural
framework of DNA and RNA molecules.
2. It is the structural building blocks of the cells and components of numerous metabolic
pathways.
3. Carbohydrates linked to lipids are structural components of cell membrane.
4. Carbohydrates linked to proteins function in a variety of cell-cell and cell-molecule
recognition processes.
SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQi84TnstI4
Classification of Carbohydrates
The simpler members of the carbohydrate family are often referred to as saccharides
because of their sweet taste ( Latin: saccharum, “sugar”). The classification depends on the
number of simple sugars they contain.
 Monosaccharides
 Disaccharides
 Oligosaccharides
 Polysaccharides
Monosaccharides
- have a general formula Cn(H2O)n, with one of the carbons being the carbonyl group of either an
aldehyde or a ketone
- also known as simple sugars, are the simplest carbohydrates.
- consist of only one saccharide unit and thus cannot be hydrolyzed.
- it contains three to nine carbon atoms.
- the suffix –ose indicate that a molecule is a carbohydrate, and the prefixes tri-, tetr-, pent- and
so forth, indicate the number of carbon atoms in the chain.
Aldoses- monosaccharides containing an aldehyde group, while ketoses contains a ketone
group
Common Examples: glucose ( most abundant) , fructose, galactose, ribose and deoxyribose.
Glucose – known as grape sugar , from ripe fruits particularly ripe grapes.
-also knownas dextrose and blood sugar.
Fructose- It is also known as levulose and fruit sugar.

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-the sweetest tasting of all sugars and found in many fruits and is present in honey.
D-Ribose- is a component of a variety of complex molecules, including ribonucleic
acids(RNA) and energy rich compounds such as adenosine triphosphate.
Galactose- is synthesized from glucose in mammary glands for use in lactose (milk sugar)
which is a dissacharide consisting of a glucose unit and a galactose unit.
-D-galactose is sometimes called brain sugar.
D-Glucose and D-fructose, the two major constituents of honey, are monosaccharides .
D-Glucose D-Fructose
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS and Practice Exercise
Skill –Building Exercises

Ball, D.W.; Hill, J.W.; Scott, R.J. The Basics of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry. Chapter 16.1
http://saylordotorg.github.io/text_the-basics-of-general-organic-and-biological-chemistry/
Anomers
ChemistryLibreTexts.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Map%3A_Organic_Chemistry_(Mc
Murry)/25%3A_Biomolecules-_Carbohydrates/25.07%3A_Anomers
Disaccharides
-composed of two monosaccharide units joined by glycosidic linkage between the anomeric
carbon of one unit and an –OH group of the other unit.
Common Examples: sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar) and ,maltose (malt sugar)

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Lactose - is the major sugar found in milk and sometimes called “milk sugar”. It accounts for 5
to 8% of human milk and 4 to 6% of cow’s milk.
Sucrose – kown as “table sugar”, is the most abundant disaccharide in the biological world.
- it is obtained principally from the juice of sugar cane and sugar beets.
Maltose – derives its name from its presence in a malt, the juice from sprouted barley and
other cereal grains.
Although disaccharides contain no carbonyl groups, they are hydrolyzed to simple

monosaccharides that contain an aldehyde or ketone.
Oligosaccharides
- composed of six to ten (6-10) monosaccharide groups covalently bonded each other.
-complete hydrolysis of an oligosaccharide produces monosaccharides.
Polysaccharides
-are the most complex of all carbohydrates , consist of large numbers of monosaccharide units
bonded together by glycosidic bonds.
- it can be hydrolyzed by enzymes or by heating with strong acids to yield monosaccharide.
Common Examples: Starch , glycogen and cellulose
Storage Polysaccharide

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-is a storage form for monosaccharides and is used as an energy source in cells.
Cellulose - is use in making papers, as well as cotton in our clothes and the wood in our
houses.
Starch- is a component of many types of foods, including bread, pasta, potatoes ,rice,
corn and peas . It is the energy storage polysaccharide in plants. It is the main carbohydrate
found in the seeds and root of plants. It is composed of hundreds of glucose molecules joined
together. Like disaccharides, polysaccharides contain carbonyl groups. Pasta, bread, rice and
potatoes are foods that contain a great deal of starch.
Carbohydrates are storehouses of chemical energy. It can be synthesized in green plants and
algae through photosynthesis, a process that uses the energy from the sun to convert carbon
dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. Almost all of the oxygen in the atmosphere results
from photosynthesis.
Plants store glucose in the form of polysaccharides like starch and cellulose.

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The energy stored in glucose bonds is released when glucose is metabolized. The
oxidation of glucose bonds is released when glucose is metabolized. The oxidation of glucose is
a multistep process that forms carbon dioxide, water and a great deal of energy. Although the
metabolism of lipids provides more energy per gram than the metabolism of carbohydrates,
glucose is the preferred source when burst of energy is needed during exercise.
Glucose is soluble, so it can be quickly and easily transported through the bloodstream
and tissues.
KEY CONCEPTS
What are the major structural features of monosaccharides?
 Monosaccharides with carbonyl group at C1 are called aldoses and those with a
carbonyl at C2 are called ketoses. Generally, all other carbons have OH groups bonded
to them. The terms triose, tetrose and so forth are used to indicate the number of
carbons in the chain
 The acyclic form of monosaccharides is drawn in fischer projection formulas. A D sugar
has the OH group of the chirality center farthest from the carbonyl on the right side. An
L sugar has the OH group chirality center from the carbonyl on the left side.
How are the cyclic forms of monosaccharides drawn?
 In aldohexoses the OH group on C5 reacts with aldehyde carbonyl to give two cyclic
hemiacetals called anomers. The acetal carbon is called the anomeric carbon. The α
anomer has the OH group on the new chirality center drawn down for a D, the β anomer
has the OH group drawn up
What reduction and oxidation products are formed from monosaccharides?
 Monosachharides are reduced to alditols with H and Pd

 Monosaccharides are oxidized to aldonic acids with Benedict’s reagent. Sugars that are
oxidized with Benedict’s reagent are called reducing sugars

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What are the major structural features of disaccharides?
 Disaccharides are composed of two monosaccharides units joined by an acetal C—O

bond called a glycosidic linkage. A α glycoside has the glycosidic linkage oriented down,
and βglycoside has the glycosidic linkage oriented up
 Disaccharides are hydrolyzed to two monosaccharides by the cleavage of glycosidic C—
O bond with water
What are the differences in the polysaccharides cellulose, starch and glycogen?
 Cellulose, starch and glycogen are all polymers of the monosaccharides glucose
 Cellulose is unbranched polymer composed of repeating glucose units joined in 1 4-β-
glycosidic linkages. Cellulose forms long chains that stack in three-dimensional sheets.
The human digestive system does not contain the needed enzyme to metabolize
cellulose
 There are two forms of starch—amylase, which is an unbranched polymer; and
amylopectin, which is a branched polysaccharide polymer. Both forms contain 1 4-α-
glycosidic linkages and the polymer winds in a helical arrangement. Starch is digestible
because the human digestive system has the needed amylase enzyme to catalyze
hydrolysis
 Glycogen resembles amylopectin but is more extensively branched. Glycogen is the
major form in which polysaccharides are stored in animals
Give examples of some carbohydrate derivatives that contain amino groups, amides, or
carbohydrate anions
 Gylcosaminoglycans are a group of unbranched carbohydrates derived from amino

sugar and glucoronate units. Examples include hyaluronate, which forms a gel-like
matrix in joints and the vitreous humor of the eye; chondroitin, which is a component of
cartilage and tendons; and heparin, an anticoagulant
 Chitin, a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, forms the hard exoskeletons of carbs,
lobsters and shrimps
What role do carbohydrates play in determining blood type?
 Human blood type—A, B, AB, Ois determined by three or four monosaccharides

attached to a membrane protein on the surface of red blood cells. There are three
different carbohydrates sequence, one for each of the A, B, and O blood types. Blood
type AB contains the sequences for both blood type A and B. since the blood type, blood
type must be known before receiving a transfusion.
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SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO
https://youtu.be/wxzc_2c6GMg
 Whether your food is too sweet or not, SUGAR is SUGAR and too much carbohydrate
can be a problem. Foods high in fiber like vegetables and whole grain slow the release of
glucose in the blood. Over consumption of carbohydrates may lead to insulin resistance.
Many scientists believe that insulin resistance leads to metabolic syndrome.
 Common Symptoms are: High blood sugar, increase weight circumference, and high
blood pressure. It also Increases the risk of developing conditions like cardiovascular
disease and Type 2 diabetes.
EXERCISES
REFERENCES
1. Bettelheim, F. , Brown, W.H., Campbell, M.K., Farrell, S.O., Torres, O.2018. Introduction
to General, Organic and Biochemistry, 11th Edition. Cengage Learning.
2. Shapley, P. Disaccharides.
http://butane.chem.uiuc.edu/pshapley/GenChem2/B10/1.html
3. Principles of Biochemistry.
http://www.bioinfo.org.cn/book/biochemistry/chapt11/bio1.htm
4. Reusch, W. Natural Products.
https://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/reusch/VirtTxtJml/carbhyd.htm
5. Chemistry Explained. http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Co-Di/Disaccharides.html
6. McMichael, K. Chemistry 240. http://chemistry2.csudh.edu/rpendarvis/index.html
7. Nutrients Review. http://www.nutrientsreview.com/carbs/polysaccharides.html
8. Burke, L.M.; Hawley, J,A.; Wong, S,H,S. Jeukendrup, A,E. Carbohydrates for training and
competition. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.585473


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University of San Agustin

General Luna St., Iloilo City 5000, Philippines

At the end of the course, the students shall be able to:

At the end of the module, the students should be able to:

- means “hydrate of carbon” and derives from the formula Cn(H2O)n .

A Legacy of Excellent Education in Virtus et Scientia

Fructose- It is also known as levulose and fruit sugar.

SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS and Practice Exercise

Skill –Building Exercises

A Legacy of Excellent Education in Virtus et Scientia

Although disaccharides contain no carbonyl groups, they are hydrolyzed to simple

- it can be hydrolyzed by enzymes or by heating with strong acids to yield monosaccharide.

Common Examples: Starch , glycogen and cellulose

A Legacy of Excellent Education in Virtus et Scientia

A Legacy of Excellent Education in Virtus et Scientia

What are the major structural features of monosaccharides?

How are the cyclic forms of monosaccharides drawn?

What reduction and oxidation products are formed from monosaccharides?

 Monosachharides are reduced to alditols with H and Pd

A Legacy of Excellent Education in Virtus et Scientia

 Disaccharides are composed of two monosaccharides units joined by an acetal C—O

 Gylcosaminoglycans are a group of unbranched carbohydrates derived from amino

What role do carbohydrates play in determining blood type?

 Human blood type—A, B, AB, Ois determined by three or four monosaccharides

A Legacy of Excellent Education in Virtus et Scientia

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