Clinical Biochemistry Department

College of Medicine /AL-Mustansiriyah University

Carbohydrates Lectures / LEC. THREE / 2022-2023

D- Polysaccharides
These are polymerized products of many monosaccharide units. They may be:
1. Homoglycans are composed of single kind of monosaccharides, e.g. starch, glycogen
and cellulose.
2. Heteroglycans are composed of two or more different monosaccharides, e.g. hyaluronic
acid, chondroitin sulfate.
1- Starch
A- Structure of starch
i. It is the reserve carbohydrate of plant kingdom.
ii. Sources: Potatoes, cereals (rice, wheat) and other food grains.
iii. Starch is composed of amylose and amylopectin.

 Amylose: When starch is treated with boiling water, 10–20% is solubilized; this part is

called amylose. Amylose is made up of glucose units with alpha-1,4 glycosidic linkages

to form an unbranched long chain with a molecular weight 400,000 D or more.

 Additional information about Amylose

1. Amylose is an un-branched chain polymer. It has 300-several thousand units of D-

glucose units.
2. It gives a dark blue/black color when iodine solution is added.
3. Amylose is less soluble in water.
4. It does not form a gel when hot water is added.
5. Amylose can be hydrolyzed with α amylase and β amylase enzymes completely.
6. Amylose is a straight chain structure.
7. Amylose is a great storage system for energy.

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Clinical Biochemistry Department
College of Medicine /AL-Mustansiriyah University

Carbohydrates Lectures / LEC. THREE / 2022-2023

 Amylopectin: The insoluble part absorbs water and forms paste like gel; this is called
amylopectin. Amylopectin is also made up of glucose units, but is highly branched
with molecular weight more than 1 million. The branching points are made by alpha-
1,6 linkage (similar to isomaltose).
Additional information about Amylopectin

1. Amylopectin is a branched chain polymer of D-glucose units.

2. It gives a reddish brown color when iodine solution is added.
3. Amylopectin is more soluble in water.
4. It forms a gel when hot water is added to it.
5. Amylopectin constitutes about 70-80% of the starch.
6. Amylopectin cannot be hydrolyzed with α amylase and β amylase enzymes
completely.
7. It has α 1-4 glycosidic linkages and α 1-6 glycosidic linkages.
8. Amylopectin only stores a small amount of energy.

Some of The Similarities Between Amylose And Amylopectin

• Both amylose and amylopectin are found in starch granules.

• Amylose and amylopectin are both composed of D-glucose units.
• Both amylopectin and amylose are polysaccharide molecules.
• Amylopectin and amylose molecules have α 1-4 glycosidic linkages.

B- Hydrolysis of Starch
i- Starch will form a blue color complex with iodine; this color disappears on heating and
reappears when cooled. This is a sensitive test for starch. Starch is nonreducing because the
free sugar groups are negligible in number.
ii. When starch is hydrolyzed by mild acid, smaller and smaller fragments are produced.

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Clinical Biochemistry Department
College of Medicine /AL-Mustansiriyah University

Carbohydrates Lectures / LEC. THREE / 2022-2023

iii. Thus hydrolysis for a short time produces amylodextrin which gives violet color with
iodine and is non-reducing. Further hydrolysis produces erythrodextrin which gives red color
with iodine and mildly reduce the Benedict's solution.

C- Action of Amylases on Starch.

i. Salivary amylase and pancreatic amylase are alpha-amylases, which act at random
on alpha-1,4 glycosidic bonds to split starch into smaller units (dextrins), and
finally to alpha-maltose.
ii. Beta-amylases are of plant origin (almond, germinating seeds, etc.) which split
starch to form beta-maltose. They act on amylose to split maltose

1- Glycogen
1- Glycogen: is the reserve carbohydrate of the animal; hence it is called as animal starch.
It is stored in liver and muscle. About 5% of weight of liver is made up by
glycogen. Excess carbohydrates are deposited as glycogen.
2- Structure:
- Glycogens have a complex structure of highly branched chains. It is a polymer of D-
Glucose units and resemble amylopectin. Glucose units in main stem are joined by α1 → 4
glucosidic linkages and branching occurs at branch points by α1 → 6 glucosidic linkage. A
branch point occurs for every 12 to 18 glucose units.
- Molecular weight of glycogen is about 5 million. Innermost core of glycogen contains a
primer protein, Glycogenin (Fig.12). Glycogen is more branched and more compact than
amylopectin.

Fig. 12: Branched glycogen molecule

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Clinical Biochemistry Department
College of Medicine /AL-Mustansiriyah University

Carbohydrates Lectures / LEC. THREE / 2022-2023

1- Solubility: Glycogen is not readily soluble in water and it forms an opalascent

solution. It can be precipitated from opalascent solution by ethyl alcohol, and in
drying, it forms a pure white powder.
2- Action of alkali: Glycogen is not destroyed by a hot strong KOH or NaOH solution.
This property is made use of in the method for determining it quantitatively in tissues.
3- Action with iodine: Glycogen gives a deep-red colour. In this respect it resembles
erythrodextrin.
3. Inulin
Inulin is a natural, storage carbohydrate present in more than 36,000 species of plants,
including wheat, onion, bananas, garlic, asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke, and chicory. For
these plants, inulin is used as an energy reserve and for regulating cold resistance.
It is a polymer of D-fructose and has a low molecular weight (MW = 5000) with chemical
formula (C6nH10n+2O5n+1). It is a white, tasteless powder. Acids hydrolyze it to D-fructose
and give no colour with iodine.
Inulin is a heterogeneous collection of fructose polymers. It consists of chain-
terminating glucosyl moieties and a repetitive fructosyl moiety, which are linked by β (2,1)
bonds. Because of the β (2,1) linkages, inulin is not digested by enzymes in the human
alimentary system, contributing to its functional properties: reduced calorie value, dietary
fiber, and prebiotic effects.

Biomedical importance of Inulin:

✓ Dietary inulin inhibits development of colon cancers in animal models. Similar
tumor inhibitory effects are seen with fermentation products of inulin, particularly
the short chain fatty acids butyric and propionic acids, both of which inhibit
growth of colon cancer cells.
✓ Part of the beneficial effect of inulin in suppressing tumours may be mediated by
its enhancement of gut immune function. Dietary inulin has been shown to have an
immunomodulatory effect on the gut, increasing secretory immunoglobulin (Ig) A
and interleukin-10 production and decreasing the oxidative burst activity of blood
neutrophils.
✓ Dietary inulin may reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. A recent study to
investigate the effects of dietary inulin in young healthy men found a significant

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Clinical Biochemistry Department
College of Medicine /AL-Mustansiriyah University

Carbohydrates Lectures / LEC. THREE / 2022-2023

increase in HDL-cholesterol and reductions in total cholesterol/HDLcholesterol

ratio, serum triglycerides, fasting glucose, fructosamine, HbA1c and insulin
resistance as measured by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR).
✓ Dietary inulin has also been shown to increase calcium and magnesium absorption
and bone mineralisation in young adolescents, primarily through an effect of
increasing calcium absorption in the large intestine.

4- Cellulose
Cellulose is a polymer of glucose. It is not hydrolyzed readily by dilute acids, but
heating with fairly high concentrations of acids yields, the disaccharide Cellobiose and D-
Glucose. Cellulose is made up of two molecules of D-Glucose linked together by β-
Glucosidic linkage between C1 and C4 of adjacent glucose units.

Biomedical Importance
Cellulose is a very stable insoluble compound. Since, it is the main constituent of the
supporting tissues of plants; it forms a considerable part of our vegetable food. Herbivorous
animals, with the help of bacteria, can utilize a considerable proportion of the cellulose
ingested, but in human beings no cellulose splitting enzyme is secreted by GI mucosa, hence
it is not of any nutritional value. But it is of considerable human dietetic value that it adds

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Clinical Biochemistry Department
College of Medicine /AL-Mustansiriyah University

Carbohydrates Lectures / LEC. THREE / 2022-2023

bulk to the intestinal contents (roughage) thereby stimulating peristalsis and elimination of
indigestible food residues.
5-Dextrins
When starch is partially hydrolyzed by the action of acids or enzymes, it is broken down
into a number of products of lower molecular weight known as dextrins (see hydrolysis of
starch). They resemble starch by being precipitate by alcohol, forming sticky, gummy
masses.

4- Dextrans
It is a polymer of D-Glucose. It is synthesized by the action of Leuconostoc
mesenteroides, a non-pathogenic gram + ve cocci in a sucrose medium. Exocellular enzyme
produced by the organisms bring about polymerization of glucose moiety of sucrose
molecule, and forms the polysaccharide known as Dextrans. They differ from dextrins in
structure. They are made up of units of a number of D-Glucose molecules, having α1 → 6, α1
→ 4 or α1 → 3 glycosidic linkages, within each unit and the units are joined together to form
a network.

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Clinical Biochemistry Department
College of Medicine /AL-Mustansiriyah University

Carbohydrates Lectures / LEC. THREE / 2022-2023

7-Agar
It is a homopolysaccharide. Made up of repeated units of galactose which is
sulphated. Present in seaweed. It is obtained from them.

Biomedical Importance:
• In human: Used as laxative in constipation. Like cellulose, it is not digested; hence add bulk
to the faeces (“roughage” value) and helps in its propulsion.
• In microbiology: Agar is available in purified form. It dissolves in hot water and on cooling
it sets like gel. It is used in agar plate for culture of bacteria.

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