1

BIOLOGY REVIEWER
CARBOHYDRATES
ATHENA ZAHARA S. BAUTISTA
12- EINSTEIN
CABUGAO INSTITUTE

CARBOHYDRATES- include both simple sugars which are a little ring-shaped molecules made of
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

It is either alone or in pairs as well as more;

COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES- which are formed when the rings lined up together to make long chains

CARBOHYDRATES- provides us with calories or energy, and simple sugars in particular play many roles in
our simple diet

SUGARS- actually refers to a family of molecules called SACCHARIDES

FAMILY OF MOLECULES

MONOSACCHARIDE DISACCHARIDE OLIGOSACCHARIDES POLYSACCHARIDE

one (sugar molecules) two “ few 3-9 “ 10 or more “

UNDER MONOSACCHARIDE

GLUCOSE- is the most important members of sugar family and it’s a MONOSACCHARIDE

- one of the main sources of calories

- can cross the blood brain barrier

- nourishes the brain

FRUCTOSE- another monosaccharide

- commonly found in honey, fruits and vegetables

GLACTOSE- known as milk sugar

 1

- only found in nature, when it links with glucose to form lactose

UNDER DISACCHARIDE

LACTOSE- a disaccharide, found in the milk of mammals, which includes cow and human

SUCROSE- table sugar, formed when fructose links up with glucose

- found in various fruits and vegetables, with sugarcane and sugar beets having the highest
quantities

MALTOSE- two glucose molecules linked together

- found in molasses, use to ferment beer

OLIGOSACCHARIDES- like glacto-oligosaccharides; which are short chains of glactose molecules

- found in soy beans

POLYSACCHARIDES- larger chains with branches

- most abundant type of carbohydrates in food

- starches- polysaccharides with molecular bond, intestinal enzymes can breakdown

- dietary-fibers- intestinal enzymes cannot break down

DIETARY FIBERS/ FIBERS- fibers have molecular bonds that are resistant to human intestinal enzymes, so

- they pass through small intestine undigested

- broken down a bit by bacteria in the large intestine

GLYCOSIDIC BONDING- monosaccharides link together through glycosidic bonding, which is when an
“OH” carbon group bond with “H”

INSULIN- move glucose into all cells for energy

GLYCOGENESIS- is process that stimulates the liver to store glucose as glycogen.

- also promotes fat and protein synthesis

GLYCOGENESIS- which is when some of the glucose molecules get linked together with alpha 1-4 and 1-6
glycocidic bonds to form a polysaccharide called glycogen.

*A HEALTHY DIET CONTAINS 45-65% OF CALORIES FROM CARBOHYDRATES

 1

CARBOHYDRATES- carbohydrates got their names because they are literally hydrates of carbon.

- molecules with several carbon atoms that each bear a hydrogen and a hydroxyl group

- simple sugars

Small carbohydrates- also known as sugar, and their names end in “ose”, like glucose or sucrose, which is
the sugar that we commonly refer as simply sugar

MONOSACCHARIDES- these are the monomeric units that polymerize to form polysaccharides;

We can name these according to the number of carbon atoms they have, which will be between 3 and 6

So three carbon-monosaccharide will be TRIOSE

Four carbon-monosaccharides- TETROSE

Five carbon-monosaccharides- KETOPENTOSE each of these carbons, that bear both hydrogen

Six carbon-monosaccharides- ALDOHEXOSE and hydroxyl will be a CHIRAL CENTER

 In addition, all carbohydrates will have either, ALDEHYDE or a KETONE functional group in
the molecule
 Each vertex is a stereogenic carbon and we show the hydrogens and hydroxyls on either
sides

FISCHER PROJECTIONS- the convention for drawing linear monosaccharides;

HORIZONTAL LINES- wedge bonds

VERTICAL LINES- dash bonds

ANOMERS- two different stereiosomers

HEMIACETAL GROUP- which a hemiacetal will become an acetal

DISACCHARIDES- if the alcohol attacks is one of the hydroxyl group on another monosaccharide

CELOBIOSE- beta glucose linked with another beta glucose

OTHER COMMON DISACCHARIDE ARE;

LACTOSE, BETA-GALACTOSE, ALPHA-GLUCOSE, SUCROSE

CELLULOSE- abundant in plants, consist entirely beta glucose connected via 1-4 glycosidic bonds

STARCH- another polysaccharides made from glucose

GLYCOGEN- important way that we human store energy inside our cells
 1

IMPORTANT ORGANIC UNITS;

CARBOHYDRATES- simple sugar

PROTEIN- amino acid

LIPID- fatty acids

NUCLEIC ACID- nucleotide

CARBOHYDRATES- the most abundant biochemical in the world

- Carbohydrate molecules are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen

- Cn(H2O)n this formula explains the origin of the word “carbon plus water”

TYPES OF CARBOHYDRATES

1. MONOSACCHARIDE- mono; single / saccar; sugar

- simplest form of carbohydrate

Examples:

 GLUCOSE- also known as dextrose or grape sugar is the only form of sugar used by the
body that provides energy to fuel all cellular processes.
-most abundant carbohydrate in the blood that is why it is also called blood
sugar
 FRUCTOSE or LEVULOSE- considered as sweetest among the sugar being twice as sweet as
the glucose.
 GALACTOSE or ALDOHEXOSE- obtained from milk and an important component that
serves as a marker that can help identify blood types.
- less than half sweet than glucose

2. DISACCHARIDES- two monosaccharides joined together

- the bond that joins the two simple sugars is called GLYCOSIDIC BOND

Examples:

 SUCROSE- commonly kwon as table sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose and is
considered an excellent natural preservative.
 LACTOSE- found in milk and milk products is formed by combining glucose and galactose

- an enzyme called lactase is needed to digest this

- LACTOSE INTOLERANT is a common disorder where the body cannot fully digest
lactose
 1

 MALTOSE- found in beer is composed of two glucose it also provides energy in germinating
seeds

3. POLYSACCHARIDES- are made up of repeating units of sugar joined together by glycosidic bonds.

CLASSIFIED AS;

STRUCTURAL POLYSACCHARIDES- components of structural parts of living things such as cell wall of
plants and animals

STORAGE POLYSACCHARIDES- serves as storage of energy

a) CELLULOSE- the most abundant organic molecule on earth provides support to cell walls of
plants and other organisms such as bacteria

b) CHITIN- a principal component of exoskeletons of animals like mollusk and crustaceans

c) STARCH- a storage polysaccharide derived from potatoes, wheat, bread, pasta and other bread
products.

d) GLYCOGEN- usually refered to as animal starch is stored in the liver and muscle