Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology

TERM DEFINITION

glycoside An acetal formed from a cyclic monosaccharide by replacement of the

hemiacetal carbon —OH group with an —OR group.

aldose act as reducing agents and are called reducing sugars.

reducing sugar a carbohydrate that gives a positive test with Tollens and Benedict’s
solutions.

O Universal donor

AB Universal recipient

glycosidic linkage - bond that links the two monosaccharides of a disaccharide (glycoside)
together

- bond in a disaccharide resulting from the reaction between the

hemiacetal carbon atom —OH group of one monosaccharide and an
—OH group on the other monosaccharide.

Glucose - Blood sugar

- An aldohexose

- Most abundant monosaccharide

Sucrose - table sugar

- Most abundant disaccharide

- Non-reducing sugar

Lactose Milk sugar

Galactose - Brain sugar

- An aldohexose

Fructose - Fruit sugar

- A ketohexose
Ribose - An aldopentose

- Important in nucleic acid chemistry

Galactose & galactitol Accumulates in the blood of someone with galactosemia

B-lactose can be found in ice cream that has been stored for a long time; it
crystallizes and gives the ice cream a gritty texture.

glycan Another term for polysaccharide.

starch - homopolysaccharide containing only glucose monosaccharide

units

- energy-storage polysaccharide in plants

glycogen - glucose storage polysaccharide in humans and animals

- Sometimes called as animal starch

iodine often used to test for the presence of starch in solution; starch-
containing solutions turn a dark blue-black when ___ is added

Liver and muscle cells storage sites for glycogen in humans

cellulose - structural component of plant cell walls

- the most abundant naturally-occurring polysaccharide

chitin - similar to cellulose in both function and structure

- give rigidity to the exoskeletons of crabs, lobsters, shrimp,

insects, and other arthropods

- also occurs in the cell walls of fungi

Glycemic index dietary carbohydrate rating system that indicates how fast a particular
carbohydrate is broken down into glucose

Chiral object not identical/ not superimposable to its mirror image

Achiral object identical/superimposable to its mirror image

Chiral center an atom in a molecule that has four different groups tetrahedrally
 bonded to it.

stereoisomers Atoms are connected in the same way but are arranged differently in
space.

enantiomers have structures that are nonsuperimposable mirror images of each

other.

diastereomers have structures that are not mirror images of each other

disaccharides glycosides formed from the linkage of two monosaccharides.

homopolysaccharides A polysaccharide in which only one type of monomer is present

sucrose A disaccharide that produces both D-glucose and D-fructose upon

hydrolysis

oligosaccharides carbohydrate portion of glycolipids and glycoproteins that are involved

in cell recognition processes

triacylglycerol lipid formed by esterification of three fatty acids to a glycerol molecule.

cholesterol - Most abundant steroid in the human body

steroid molecule that is a component of cell membranes and

a precursor for other steroid-based lipids.

emulsifier a substance that can disperse and stabilize water-insoluble substances

as colloidal particles in an aqueous solution.

Bile acid cholesterol derivative that functions as a lipid-emulsifying agent

in the aqueous environment of the digestive tract.

Bile secreted by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and released into the
small intestine during digestion.

Progestins pregnancy hormones

An eicosanoid an oxygenated C20 fatty acid derivative that functions as a messenger

 lipid

thromboxane - promote the formation of blood clots

- produced by blood platelets and promote platelet aggregation.

mineral wax a mixture of long-chain alkanes obtained from the processing of

petroleum.

Steroid hormones cholesterol derivatives that function as messenger lipids

Electrophoresis the process of separating charged molecules on the basis of their

migration toward charged electrodes associated with an electric field.