1 INTRODUCTION

Living systems are made up of various complex biomolecules like nucleic acids,
carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, etc. Carbohydrates and proteins are essential constituents of
our food. In addition, some simple molecules like mineral salts and vitamins also play an
important role in the functions of organisms. Biology and its subsets of biochemistry and
molecular biology study biomolecules and their reactions. Most biomolecules are organic
compounds, and just four elements—oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen—make up 96%
of the human body's mass. But many other elements, such as the various biometals, are
present in small amounts.

2 CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates (hydrates of carbon) are naturally occurring compounds having general
formula Cx(H2O)y , which are constantly produced in nature & participate in many important
bio-chemical reactions. Carbohydrates, the energy source of living beings, are the most
abundant organic compound around us. In metabolic process in the living beings, glucose is
usually oxidized into carbon dioxide and water to provide energy to the cell for their
functioning.

3 Classification of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are classified on the basis of their behaviour on hydrolysis.

Monosaccharides (simple sugars)

These are the sugars which cannot be hydrolysed into smaller molecules. General formula is
CnH2nOn. About twenty monosaccharides are known to exist in nature. Some examples are
fructose, glucose, ribose, etc. If −CHO group is present in monosaccharide, then it is known
as aldose.

Disaccharides
Disaccharides are formed when two monosaccharides, or two single simple sugars, form a
bond with removal of water. They can be hydrolyzed to yield their saccharin building blocks
by boiling with dilute acid or reacting them with appropriate enzymes. Examples of
disaccharides include sucrose, maltose, and lactose.

Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides are polymerized monosaccharides, or complex carbohydrates. They have
multiple simple sugars. Examples are starch, cellulose, and glycogen. They are generally
large and often have a complex branched connectivity. Because of their size, polysaccharides
are not water-soluble, but their many hydroxy groups become hydrated individually when
exposed to water, and some polysaccharides form thick colloidal dispersions when heated in
water. Shorter polysaccharides, with 3 - 10 monomers, are called oligosaccharides. Lactose is
a disaccharide found in milk. It consists of a molecule of D-galactose and a molecule of D-
glucose bonded by beta-1-4 glycosidic linkage. It has a formula of C12H22O11.

4 Structure of Monosaccharide
D-glucose is an aldohexose. The aldehyde group and the asymmetric center furthest from the
aldehyde; because this -OH is on the right of the Fischer projection, this is a D sugar.
Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates in that they cannot be hydrolyzed to smaller
carbohydrates. They are aldehydes or ketones with two or more hydroxyl groups.
Monosaccharides are important fuel molecules as well as building blocks for nucleic acids.
The smallest monosaccharides, for which n=3, are dihydroxyacetone and D- and L-
glyceraldehydes.

5 Classification of monosaccharides
The α and β anomers of glucose. Note the position of the hydroxyl group on the anomeric
carbon relative to the CH2OH group bound to carbon 5: they either have identical absolute
configurations (R,R or S,S) (α), or opposite absolute configurations (R,S or S,R) (β).
Monosaccharides are classified according to three different characteristics: the placement of
its carbonyl group, the number of carbon atoms it contains, and its chiral handedness. If the
carbonyl group is an aldehyde, the monosaccharide is an aldose; if the carbonyl group is a
ketone, the monosaccharide is a ketose. Monosaccharides with three carbon atoms are called
trioses, those with four are called tetroses, five are called pentoses, six are hexoses, and so on.
These two systems of classification are often combined. For example, glucose is an
aldohexose (a six-carbon aldehyde), ribose is an aldopentose (a five-carbon aldehyde), and
fructose is a ketohexose (a six-carbon ketone). Each carbon atom bearing a hydroxyl group (-
OH), with the exception of the first and last carbons, are asymmetric, making them stereo
centers with two possible configurations each (R or S). Because of this asymmetry, a number
of isomers may exist for any given monosaccharide formula.

Using Le Bel-van't Hoff rule, the aldohexose D-glucose, four of its six carbons atoms are
stereogenic, making D-glucose one of 24=16 possible stereoisomers. In the case of
glyceraldehydes, an aldotriose, there is one pair of possible stereoisomers, which are
enantiomers and epimers. 1, 3-dihydroxyacetone, the ketose corresponding to the aldose
glyceraldehydes, is a symmetric molecule with no stereo centers. The assignment of D or L is
made according to the orientation of the asymmetric carbon furthest from the carbonyl group:
in a standard Fischer projection if the hydroxyl group is on the right the molecule is a D
sugar, otherwise it is an L sugar. The "D-" and "L-" prefixes should not be confused with "d-"
or "l-", which indicate the direction that the sugar rotates plane polarized light. This usage of
"d-" and "l-" is no longer followed in carbohydrate chemistry.

Ring-straight chain isomerism

Glucose can exist in both a straight-chain and ring form. The aldehyde or ketone group of a
straight-chain monosaccharide will react reversibly with a hydroxyl group on a different
carbon atom to form a hemiacetal or hemiketal, forming a heterocyclic ring with an oxygen
bridge between two carbon atoms .

. Rings with five and six atoms are called furanose and pyranose forms, respectively, and
exist in equilibrium with the straight-chain form. During the conversion from straight-chain
form to the cyclic form, the carbon atom containing the carbonyl oxygen, called the anomeric
carbon, becomes a stereogenic center with two possible configurations: The oxygen atom
may take a position either above or below the plane of the ring. The resulting possible pair of
stereoisomers is called anomers. In the αanomer, the -OH substituent on the anomeric carbon
rests on the opposite side (trans) of the ring from the CH2OH side branch. The alternative
form, in which the CH2OH substituent and the anomeric hydroxyl are on the same side (cis)
of the plane of the ring, is called the β anomer.

6 Use in living organisms

Monosaccharides are the major source of fuel for metabolism, being used both as an energy
source (glucose being the most important in nature) and in biosynthesis. In many animals,
including humans, this storage form is glycogen, especially in liver and muscle cells. In
plants, starch is used for the same purpose. The most abundant carbohydrate, cellulose, is a
structural component of the cell wall of plants and many forms of algae. Ribose is a
component of RNA. Deoxyribose is a component of DNA. Lyxose is a component of
lyxoflavin found in the human heart. Ribulose and xylulose occur in the pentose phosphate
pathway. Galactose, a component of milk sugar lactose, is found in galactolipids in plant cell
membranes and in glycoproteins in many tissues. Mannose occurs in human metabolism,
especially in the glycosylation of certain proteins. Fructose, or fruit sugar, is found in many
plants and in humans, it is metabolized in the liver, absorbed directly into the intestines
during digestion, and found in semen. Trehalose, a major sugar of insects, is rapidly
hydrolyzed into two glucose molecules to support continuous flight.

7 Structure of Disaccharides
By the loss of a water molecule, an oxide linkage is formed, which joins two
monosaccharides. These two monosaccharides are held together by glycosidic linkage (oxide
linkage) through oxygen atom The reducing groups (aldehydic or ketonic) of
monosaccharides are bonded in disaccharides. Therefore these are non-reducing sugars, e.g.,
sucrose. Whereas sugars in which these reducing groups are free, which are called reducing
sugars, for example, lactose and maltose

8 Sucrose
On hydrolysis of sucrose, the equimolar mixture of D(+) glucose and D(-) fructose are
formed.
By a glycosidic linkage between C1 of a-D glucose and C2 of b-D-fructose, these two
monosaccharides can be held together. Sucrose is a non-reducing sugar as the reducing
groups of glucose and fructose is involved in the formation of a glycosidic bond. It is
dextrorotatory, but after hydrolysis, it gives laevorotatory fructose and dextrorotatory
glucose. Since the dextrorotation of glucose (+ 52.5°) is less than laevorotation of fructose (–
92.4°), hence the mixture is laevorotatory Invert sugar is the product formed when there is
change in the sign of rotation, from dextro (+) to laevo (–) after the process of hydrolysis of
sucrose.

9 Lactose
Lactose is found in milk so it commonly known as milk sugar. It is composed of β-D-
galactose and β-Dglucose. It has a linkage between C1 of galactose and C4 of glucose. It is
considered as reducing sugar as free aldehyde group may be produced at C1 of glucose unit.
10 Maltose
maltose C1 of one glucose (I) is linked to C4 of another glucose unit (II) of two a-Dglucose
units. In solution, C1 of second glucose produce a free aldehyde group, and it is a reducing
sugar as it has reducing properties.

11 POLYSACCHARIDES
When a large number of monosaccharide units linked together by glycosidic linkages,
polysaccharides are formed. They generally act as the food storage or structural materials.

Starch
It is the main storage polysaccharide of plants. High content of starch is found in some
vegetables, roots, tubers and cereals hence, it is the most important dietary source for human
beings. It is a polymer of alpha- glucose and consists of two components—Amylopectin and
Amylose.

Amylose constitutes about 15-20% of starch and is water soluble component. y Amylose is
formed chemically formed by 200- 1000 a-D-(+)-glucose units held together by C1–C4
glycosidic linkage, forming long unbranched chain. Amylopectin is constitutes about 80-
85% of starch and is not soluble in water. In it, a chain is formed by C1–C4 glycosidic
linkage, while branching occurs by C1– C6 glycosidic linkage. It is formed by the branched-
chain polymer of a-D-glucose units.
Cellulose
Cellulose is present mostly in plants and is the most abundant organic substance in the whole
plant kingdom. It is found mostly in the cell wall of plant cells. It is composed only of a-D-
glucose units and is a straight chain polysaccharide , which are linked together by the
glycosidic linkage between C1 of one glucose unit and C4 of the next glucose unit.

Glycogen
Glycogen is an easily mobilized storage form of glucose. Almost all of the glucose residues
in glycogen are linked by glycosidic bonds.

-Glycogen synthesis requires an activated form of glucose.

-Glycogen metabolism is controlled by hormonally stimulated cascades.
- This regulation by hormones allows glycogen metabolism to adjust to the needs of the entire
organism..
12 Importance of Carbohydrates

In life of both plants and animals they are essential as they form a large portion
of our food. In ayurvedic of medicine, honey has been 19. Biomolecules used
for a long time as an instant source of energy. Starch and glycogen form of
these areused as storage molecules in plants and animals respectively. Cell wall
of plants and bacteria is made from cellulose. They provide various raw
materials for many important industries like paper, textiles, lacquers and
breweries. Cellulose is commonly used in foods and bakery formulations as a
source of dietary fiber or to improve their texture. It is also used as a bulking
agent in lowcalorie and gluten-free baked products

13 Application of carbohydrates

Carbohydrates and obesity

Some argue that the global rise in obesity is linked to a high intake of carbs.
However, a number of factors contribute to rising obesity rates, including:

 lower physical activity levels

 greater availability of ultraprocessed food or “junk food”

 a lack of access to affordable fresh produce

 oversized portions, which increase a person’s calorie intake

 fewer hours of sleep

 genetic factors

 stress and emotional factors

Applications of Carbohydrate Polymers: Drug Delivery

As carbohydrate polymers are biomolecules found in the body, they have the
potential to be excellent drug delivery vessels due to their inherent
biocompatibility and ability to be excreted from the body after the drugs have
been delivered.

They must be modified first, but as a raw starting material, certain types of
carbohydrate polymers have great potential; hyaluronic acid and chitosan are
particularly excellent examples. These materials have been used to create
hydrogels, liposomes, microparticles, and granules that can carry a wide range
of drugs through dermal and oral delivery routes.

Carbohydrate polymers are used in various applications within the realm of

drug delivery, with applications in drug targeting, immune antigens, sustained
drug release, and adjuvants. Examples of their use in drug delivery include the
use of high-molecular-weight carbohydrate polymer xanthan gum in the
development of hydrogels and nanogels for sustained drug release.

Dextran, another type of carbohydrate polymer, is popular in many drug

delivery systems, where it is often used in the delivery of drugs that are unstable
or do not pass through cellular membranes easily.

Applications of Carbohydrate Polymers: Corrosion Resistance

Carbohydrate polymers have also been touted as a class of molecules that can
prevent metals from corroding by acting as chemical inhibitors. Chemical
inhibitors can be used to protect metals against changes in pH, temperature, and
moisture, as well as any changes in the device where they are used - such as
changes in the electrolyte within a battery system.
Carbohydrate polymers are being trialed over other chemicals because they are
less toxic, of lower cost, are less harsh to the environment once used (eco-
friendlier), and are readily available. Many have a unique inhibiting mechanism
to counteract corrosion, where they have specific absorption centers that can
absorb various molecules that would cause the metal to corrode.

Applications of Carbohydrate Polymers: Catalysis

carbohydrate polymers also have potential in heterogeneous catalysis - that is,

catalysis where the catalyst is in a different matter state/phase to the reactants,
e.g., a solid surface with liquid reactants.

The use of carbohydrate polymers has extended to using starch, cellulose, and
chitosan as catalytic surfaces, where the they act as a support surface for the
reaction to take place.

There are many reasons for trialing carbohydrate polymers in catalysis

applications, including the ease with which the physical and chemical properties
can be tuned, desirable functional groups, low toxicity, and high thermal
stability.

Applications of Carbohydrate Polymers: Fuel Cell

Another area of interest is fuel cells. In fuel cell applications, chitosan, starch,
cellulose, and glycogen carbohydrate polymer have been used as the starting
material in alternative synthetic pathways to yield new low-cost and eco-
friendlier polymer electrolytes. In these applications, their aim has not to be
more efficient but provide a less toxic and cheaper alternative to the status quo.

Chitosan has also been touted as a material that can be used in the proton-
exchange membrane in fuel cells as its physical and chemical properties can be
easily modified to fit the requirements required in these membranes, such as
low methanol permeability and hydrophobicity.

Recent research has suggested that cellulose, in an aqueous solution or liquid

phase, could be used as a sustainable fuel supply.

The Future of Carbohydrate Polymers

As the world looks more and more at renewable and sustainable materials, it is
likely that more applications of carbohydrate polymers will emerge, particularly
in fuel cells and drug delivery systems, where they have already made a great
impact. Given the availability and biocompatibility of carbohydrate polymers, it
can be expected that many more medical and healthcare applications of this type
of material will be developed in the coming years.

The Nutrition Sources of Carbohydrates

There are both healthy and unhealthy sources of carbohydrates. Healthy sources
of carbohydrates include both food sources-animal and plant products, such as
fresh fruits, vegetables, corn, potatoes, milk and milk products. Unhealthy
sources include soda, white bread, artificial sugar, pastries, and other highly
processed foods.

Carbohydrates can be found in different forms, such as sugars, starch, and

fibres. Here is a list of carbohydrates from different

Carbohydrates are an essential part of our diet. Most importantly, they provide the energy for
the most obvious functions of our body, such as moving or thinking, but also for the
‘background’ functions that most of the time we do not even notice 1. During digestion,
carbohydrates that consist of more than one sugar get broken down into their
monosaccharides by digestive enzymes, and then get directly absorbed causing a glycaemic
response. The body uses glucose directly as energy source in muscle, brain and other cells.
Some of the carbohydrates cannot be broken down and they get either fermented by our gut
bacteria or they transit through the gut without being changed. Interestingly, carbohydrates
also play an important role in the structure and function of our cells, tissues and organs.

Carbohydrates as energy source and their storage

carbohydrates broken down to mainly glucose are the preferred source of energy for our
body, as cells in our brain, muscle and all other tissues directly use monosaccharides for their
energy needs. Depending on the type, a gram of carbohydrates provides different amounts of
energy:

 Starches and sugars are the main energy-providing carbohydrates, and supply 4
kilocalories (17 kilojoules) per gram
 Polyols provide 2.4 kilocalories (10 kilojoules) (erythritol is not digested at all, and
thus gives 0 calories)
 Dietary fibre 2 kilocalories (8 kilojoules)

Monosaccharides are directly absorbed by the small intestine into the bloodstream, where
they are transported to the cells in need. Several hormones, including insulin and glucagon,
are also part of the digestive system. They maintain our blood sugar levels by removing or
adding glucose to the blood stream as needed.

If not used directly, the body converts glucose to glycogen, a polysaccharide like starch,
which is stored in the liver and the muscles as a readily available source of energy. When
needed, for instance, between meals, at night, during spurs of physical activity, or during
short fasting periods, our body converts glycogen back to glucose to maintain a constant
blood sugar level.

The brain and the red blood cells are especially dependent on glucose as energy source, and
can use other forms of energy from fats in extreme circumstances, like in very extended
periods of starvation. It is for this reason that our blood glucose must be constantly
maintained at an optimum level. Approximately 130 g of glucose are needed per day to cover
the energy needs of the adult brain alone.
Building Macromolecules

Majority of the absorbed glucose is used to make energy, some glucose is altered into ribose
and deoxyribose, which are important building blocks of important macromolecules, such as
RNA, DNA, and ATP.

Glucose is additionally used to make the molecule NADPH, which is important for protection
against oxidative stress and is utilized in many other chemical reactions in the body. If all of
the energy is used in building needs of the body, excess glucose can be used to make fat.

paring Protein: When there is not sufficient glucose to meet the body’s needs, glucose is
released from amino acids. As molecules of amino acids cannot be stored, this process
requires the destruction of proteins, primarily from tissues of the muscles. The presence of
sufficient glucose basically excludes the breakdown of proteins needed by the body from
being used to make glucose.
Lipid Metabolism: As glucose level of the blood rises, the use of lipids as an energy source
is inhibited. Therefore, glucose excessively has a ‘fat-sparing’ effect. It is because an increase
in glucose level of blood enhances release of the hormone insulin, which orders cells to use
glucose instead of lipids for production of energy.
Sufficient glucose levels in the blood also prevent the development of ketosis. Ketosis is a
metabolic condition which results from an elevation of ketone bodies in the blood. Ketone
bodies are an alternative source of energy that cells can use when there is insufficient glucose
supply such as during fasting.
sources and different forms.

Conclusion
Carbohydrates are compounds that contain mainly molecules of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen, although they can also contain nitrogen and phosphorus.
They are the most abundant compounds and are widely distributed in
horticultural commodities. Carbohydrates (Carbs) are used as an energy fuel, for
the synthesis of glycoproteins and glycolipids, and as a general precursor for
most complex organic compounds in the body.

Carbohydrates constitute a group of chemically defined substances with a range

of physical and physiological properties and health benefits for consumers.
Their main function is to provide energy, but they also play an important role in
the structure and function of cells, tissues, and organs. Some carbohydrates have
specific nutritional actions.
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