CHBH 13 - Biochemistry for Health Sciences Notes
relates greatly to the study and understanding of whole
 Biochemistry is the science, which deals with the chemical
constituents of living cells, and with the reaction and
processes, they undergo.
 Biochemistry, also sometimes called biological chemistry,
is the study of chemical processes in living organisms,
including, but not limited to, living matter. The laws of
biochemistry govern all living organisms and living
processes. By controlling information flow through
biochemical signaling and the flow of chemical energy
through metabolism, biochemical processes give rise to
the complexity of life.
 Much of biochemistry deals with the structures, functions
and interactions of cellular components such as proteins,
carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other
biomolecules —although increasingly processes rather
than individual molecules are the main focus.
 Among the vast number of different biomolecules, many
are complex and large molecules (called biopolymers),
which are composed of similar repeating subunits (called
monomers). Each class of polymeric biomolecule has a
different set of subunit types. For example, a protein is a
polymer whose subunits are selected from a set of 20 or
more amino acids.
 Biochemistry studies the chemical properties of
important biological molecules, like proteins, and in
particular the chemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
 The biochemistry of cell metabolism and the endocrine
system has been extensively described. Other areas of
biochemistry include the genetic code (DNA, RNA), protein
synthesis, cell membrane transport and signal
transduction.
 Over the last 40 years biochemistry has become so
successful at explaining living processes that now almost
all areas of the life sciences from botany to medicine are
engaged in biochemical research.
 Today the main focus of pure biochemistry is in
understanding how biological molecules give rise to the
processes that occur within living cells, which in turn
organisms.
LESSON 1: CARBOHYDRATES
 Carbohydrates — fiber, starches and sugars — are
essential food nutrients that your body turns into glucose
to give you the energy to function. Complex carbs in fruits,
vegetables and whole-grain products are less likely to
spike blood sugar than simple carbs (sugars). Low-carb
diets like keto can be high in fats.
 Carbohydrates are organic molecules that are made up of
a collection of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules;
all carbohydrates have a 2:1 ratio of hydrogen to oxygen.
Typically, because of their similar chemical structures,
sugars, starches, and fibers are all considered
carbohydrates.
Further, they can be divided into three general groups of
saccharides (sugar) based on their level of complexity:
 Monosaccharides: the simplest form of carbohydrate
 Oligosaccharides: saccharide composed of a small
number of monosaccharides
 Polysaccharides: more than about 10 linked
monosaccharides that form a polymer
 In addition, we can further breakdown the classification
into two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex.
 Simple carbohydrates are smaller, more easily
processed molecules known as mono- and
disaccharides since they contain either one sugar
molecule or two sugar molecules linked together.
 Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are
called polysaccharides since they have more than
two sugar groups linked together.
 Your digestive system breaks down carbs into glucose or
blood sugar.
 Your bloodstream absorbs glucose and uses it as energy
to fuel your body. The amount of carbs you consume
affects blood sugar.
 Taking in a lot of carbs can raise blood sugar levels. High  Additional information about starch:
blood sugar (hyperglycemia) can put you at risk for Starch is a white, granular and organic substance
diabetes. Some people who don’t consume enough carbs produced by plants. It is a soft and tasteless powder which
have low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). is not soluble in alcohol, cold water and other solvents.
 Each subtype of carbohydrate has different effects in the The basic chemical formula of any molecule of starch is
human body depending on its structure and its food C6H10O5.
source, which affect things like:
 How quickly and/or easily the carbohydrate molecule EARLY HISTORY OF BIOCHEMISTRY
is digested and absorbed.  People of early civilizations
 Which other nutrients are provided along with the  The Chinese
carbohydrate source; for example, fat and protein  The early Greek
slow down the digestion and/or absorption.  Arabic biology
 Our perceptions of the carbohydrates’ texture and  European science
sweetness.
 Enzyme action in the mouth and gut.  Grape harvest and wine production as depicted in an early
 With that said, eating the “healthier “, high fiber, lower Egyptian wall painting. Fermentation of carbohydrates in
glycemic index carb (oatmeal bowl) will be absorbed grape juice to ethanol was carried out by yeast.
much slower while the “non-healthy” carbs (sugar cube)
are digested very quickly. Also, carbohydrates are
primarily a source of immediate energy for all of your
body’s cells.
 Typically, 20 grams of blood-borne glucose circulates
every hour, and the body prefers to keep this more or less
stable. If our blood sugar drops below that, the body will
immediately use the new glucose supply for preserving
blood glucose levels for immediate energy. If excess
glucose is present, the liver and muscles will uptake what  The Chinese in the fourth century B.C. believed that
they can. humans contained five elements:
 The liver can store about 80 to 100 grams of glycogen water, fire, wood, metal, and earth
before its full.  When all elements were present in proper balance, good
 Muscles can store between 300 and 600 grams of health results.
glycogen before they’re full (depends on the amount of
muscle mass someone has).
 Beyond this, additional glucose can be transformed into
fat. Second, foods that have a high glycemic index
(measure of how quickly and significant a food can raise
blood sugar) can raise blood sugar rapidly which causes a
spike in insulin to try and control the “sugar load” in the
body.
THE ROAD TO MODERN BIOCHEMISTRY TWO NOTABLE BREAKTHROUGHS
(1) Discovery of the role of Enzymes as Catalysts
(2) Identification of Nucleic Acids as Information Molecules
The flow of Information: From Nucelic Acids to Proteins

WHAT IS BIOCHEMISTRY?
 Biochemistry is the application of chemistry to the study
of biological processes at the cellular and molecular level.
 It emerged as a distinct discipline around the beginning of
the 20th century when scientists combined chemistry,
physiology and biology to investigate the chemistry of
living systems by:
(A) Studying the structure and behavior of the complex
molecules found in biological material and
(B) How these molecules interact to form cells, tissues and
whole organism
CARL ALEXANDER NEUBERG (1903)
 Father of Biochemistry
 First used the term Biochemistry
 He defined Biochemistry as a science that describes the
structure and functioning of living organism in the
language of chemistry. It is concerned with the chemical
nature and chemical behavior of the living matter.
 Biochemistry = chemistry of life IMPORTANT FUNCTIONAL GROUPS IN BIOCHEMISTRY
 Aim: to describe and explain, in molecular terms, all
chemical processes of living cells

1) STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL BIOCHEMISTRY

 Structural and functional biochemistry focuses initially on
discovering the chemical structures and three-
dimensional arrangements of biomolecules, those
chemicals that are found in living matter.
 To describe biological processes, one must have a
knowledge of the molecular structures of the 2) INFORMATION BIOCHEMISTRY
participating biomolecules, which then often leads to an  Informational biochemistry defines the language(s) for
understanding of thefunction or purpose of the cellular storing biological data and for transmitting that data in
molecules cells and organisms. This area includes molecular genetics,
which describes the molecular processes in heredity and
expression of genetic information and also processes that
communicate molecular signals to regulate cellular
activities (i.e.,hormone action)
3) BIOENERGETICS
 Bioenergetics describes the flow of energy in living
organisms and how it may be transferred from one
process to another. (endergonic and exergonic reactions).
 How organisms use biochemical reactions and
biomolecules to transfer energy from exergonic to
endergonic events will be pivotal in our understanding of
life processes.
 The transfer of energy usually means the transformation  The biochemist’s periodic table. Elements in red: present
of one type of energy to another. in bulk form in living cells and are essential for life. Yellow:
trace elements, very likely essential. Blue: present in some
organisms and may be essential

BIOMOLECULES

ALL LIVING MATTER CONTAINS C,H,N,O,P,S

 Of the 100+ chemical elements, only about 28-31% occur
naturally in plants and animals.
 Elements present in biological material can be divided
into 3 categories:
1. Elements found in bulk form and essential for life:
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and
sulfur make up about 92% of the dry weight of living
things.
2. Elements in trace quantities in most organisms and very
likely essential for life, such as calcium, manganese, iron,
WHERE IS BIOCHEMISTRY USED?
and iodine.
Biochemistry has obvious applications in medicine, dentistry,
3. Trace elements that are present in some organisms and
and veterinary medicine. Other applications include:
may be essential for life, such as arsenic, bromine,
 FOOD SCIENCE
molybdenum, and vanadium.
- Biochemists determine the chemical composition of
foods, research ways to develop abundant and
 inexpensive sources of nutritious foods, develop methods barrier to certain molecules. The hydrophilic part faces
to extract nutrients from waste products, and/or invent outward and the hydrophobic part faces inward. This
ways to prolong the shelf life of food products. arrangement helps monitor which molecules can enter
 AGRICULTURE and exit the cell. For example, nonpolar molecules and
- Biochemists study the interaction of small polar molecules, such as oxygen and water, can
herbicides/insecticides with plants and pests. They easily diffuse in and out of the cell. Large, polar molecules,
examine the structure–activity relationships of for example, glucose, cannot pass freely so they need the
compounds, determine their ability to inhibit growth, and help of transport proteins.
evaluate the toxicological effects on surrounding life
 PHARMACOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY,
TOXICOLOGY, AND CLINICAL CHEMISTRY
- Biochemists investigate the mechanisms of drug actions;
engage in viral research; conduct research pertaining to
organ function; or use chemical concepts, procedures, and
techniques to study the diagnosis and therapy of disease
and the assessment of health.

LESSON 2: LIPIDS
 Fats and lipids are an essential component of the
homeostatic function of the human body. Lipids
contribute to some of the body’s most vital processes.
Together with proteins and carbohydrates, lipids are one
of the principal structural components of living cells.
 Lipids are a diverse group of compounds and serve many
different functions. At a cellular level, phospholipids and
 Lipid rafts are possible areas of the cell membrane that
cholesterol are some of the primary components of the
contain high concentrations of cholesterol and
membranes that separate a cell from its environment.
glycosphingolipids. The existence of lipid rafts has not
Lipid-derived hormones, known as steroid hormones, are
been conclusively established, though many researchers
important chemical messengers and include testosterone
suspect such rafts do indeed exist and may play a role in
and estrogens. At an organismal level triglycerides stored
membrane fluidity, cell to-cell communication, and
in adipose cells serve as energy-storage depots and also
infection by viruses.
provide thermal insulation.
 Lipids are an essential component of the cell membrane.
The structure is typically made of a glycerol backbone, 2
fatty acid tails (hydrophobic), and a phosphate group
(hydrophilic). As such, phospholipids are amphipathic. In
the cell membrane, phospholipids are arranged in a
bilayer manner, providing cell protection and serving as a
PROPERTIES OF LIPIDS  Steroid derivatives are phenanthrene structures that are
Lipids can be classified according to their hydrolysis products quite different from lipids made up of fatty acids.
and according to similarities in their molecular structures.
Three major subclasses are recognized: FATTY ACIDS
1. Simple Lipids  Fatty acids are long chain carboxylic acids (typically 16 or
(a) Fats and oils which yield fatty acids and glycerol upon more carbon atoms) which may or may not contain
hydrolysis. carbon-carbon double bonds. The number of carbon
(b) Waxes, which yield fatty acids and long-chain alcohols atoms are almost always an even number and are usually
upon hydrolysis. unbranched. Oleic acid is the most abundant fatty acid in
 Fats and Oils are both types of compounds are called nature.
triacylglycerols because they are esters composed of
three fatty acids joined to glycerol, trihydroxy alcohol. The
difference is on the basis of their physical states at room
temperature. It is customary to call a lipid a fat if it is solid
at 25°C, and oil if it is a liquid at the same temperature.
These differences in melting points reflect differences in
the degree of unsaturation of the constituent fatty acids.
 Wax is an ester of long-chain alcohol (usually mono-
hydroxy) and a fatty acid. The acids and alcohols normally
found in waxes have chains of the order of 12-34 carbon
MONO/POLY UNSATURATED AND SATURATED
atoms in length.
 Those fatty acids with no carbon-carbon double bonds are
called saturated. Those that have two or more double
2. Compound Lipids
bonds are called polyunsaturated. Oleic acid is
(a) Phospholipids, which yield fatty acids, glycerol, amino
monounsaturated, as it possesses a single double bond.
alcohol sphingosine, phosphoric acid and
 Saturated fats are typically solids and are derived from
nitrogen containing alcohol upon hydrolysis.
animals, while unsaturated fats are liquids and usually
They may be glycerophospholipids or sphingophospholipid
extracted from plants.
depending upon the alcohol group present (glycerol or
 Unsaturated fats assume a particular geometry that
sphingosine).
prevents the molecules from packing as efficiently as they
(b) Glycolipids, which yield fatty acids, sphingosine or
do in saturated molecules, leading to their propensity to
glycerol, and a carbohydrate upon hydrolysis.
exist as a liquid rather than a solid. Thus, the boiling point
They may also be glyceroglycolipids or sphingoglycolipid
of unsaturated fats is lower than that of saturated fats.
depending upon the alcohol group present (glycerol or
sphingosine).

3. Derived Lipids:
 Hydrolysis product of simple and compound lipids is called
derived lipids. They include fatty acid, glycerol,
sphingosine and steroid derivatives.
SYNTHESIS AND FUCNTION OF LIPIDS IN THE BODY LIPIDS
 Lipids are utilized directly, or otherwise synthesized, from  Lipids are another set of extremely important
fats present in the diet. There are numerous biosynthetic biomolecules that are critical in proper body function. One
pathways to both break down and synthesize lipids in the important function of fats, also known as lipids, is energy
body. storage. Fats contain an abundance of calories and can be
 The main biological functions of lipids include storing stored easily for when they are needed. Lipids function in
energy, as lipids may be broken down to yield large structural components of cells especially in the cell
amounts of energy. Lipids also form the structural membrane where phospholipids make up the majority of
components of cell membranes, and form various cell membranes.
messengers and signaling molecules within the body.  Lipids are fats and oils, made of molecules that don’t
 It is established that lipids play extremely important roles dissolve in water. They are very important for our body
in the normal functions of a cell. Not only do lipids serve functions because they transport vitamins, help form cell
as highly reduced storage forms of energy, but they also walls, and store energy long-term. Eating too much fat can
play an intimate role in the structure of cell membrane be very unhealthy, but every good diet will contain a
and organellar membranes. Lipids perform many moderate amount.
functions, such as:  Ever want to test for lipids at home? In this at-home lab,
 Energy Storage we'll demonstrate how to test for the organic compound
 Making Biological Membranes lipids, using the Brown Paper Bag Test. It is an easy
 Insulation method to test for lipid is based on the ability of lipids to
 Protection – e.g., protecting plant leaves from drying produce translucent spot on paper.
up
 Buoyancy
 Acting as hormones
 Act as the structural component of the body and
provide the hydrophobic barrier that permits
 partitioning of the aqueous contents of the cell and
subcellular structures.
 Lipids are major sources of energy in animals and
high lipid-containing seeds.
 Activators of enzymes e.g., glucose-6-phosphatase,
stearyl CoA desaturase and ω-monooxygenase, and
β-hydroxybutyric dehydrogenase (a mitochondrial
enzyme) require phosphatidylcholine micelles for
activation.