Prepared by,

APARNA M AJAY

C A R B O H Y D R ATES

D efi
nition
Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy
aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones or
substances that yeild such compounds
on hydrolysis.

Any of various neutral

compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen (as sugars, starches, and
celluloses) most of which are formed
by green plants and which constitute a
major class of animal foods.

hydrolysis
chemical decomposition in which a

compound is split into other

compounds by reacting with water.

CLASSIFICATIO N O F CARBO H YD RATES

M O N O SACH ARID ES

D ISACCH ARID ES

PO LYSACCARID ES
Starch is in cereal grains (wheat,

oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, rice,

etc.), potatoes and legumes (beans,
peas, lentils).
Fiber is mainly in whole grains
(whole-grain bread, brown rice, etc.),
legumes, vegetables and fruits.

 Monosaccharides

Monosaccharides are simple

sugars, which possess a free ketone

or aldehyde group. Being the
simplest of sugars, they cannot be
further hydrolyzed. Their chemical
formula is CnH2nOnor Cn(H2O)n.

Monosaccharides are
classified into tiroses, tertroses,
pentoses, etc., and as ketoses or
aldoses, depending on their ketone
or aldehyde group.

Examples include glucose,

fructose, galactose, glycerose,
ribose, and ribulose.
.

 2. Oligosaccharides

Oligo meaning few,

oligosaccharides are sugars that

break down into two to 10 molecules
of
monosaccharides
when
hydrolyzed.

An oligosaccharide that yields two

monosaccharide molecules on hydrolysis is
a disaccharide, while those that break down
into three or four monosaccharides are
called trisaccharides, tetrasaccharides, and
so on. Disaccharides have a chemical
formula of Cn(H2O)n-while trisaccharides
and others are Cn(H2O)n-2,etc.

Oligosaccharide examples include

sucrose, maltose, lactose, raffinose, and
stachyose

 3. Polysaccharides

Poly meaning many, polysaccharides

are compound molecules that yield more than ten
monosaccharide molecules on hydrolysis. They are
also classified depending on the type of molecules
hydrolyzed. These include homopolysaccharides
(with several monosaccharides of one type) or
heteropolysaccharides (with different types of
monosaccharides). (C6H10O5)xis their chemical
formula.

Polysaccharide examples include starch,

cellulose, pectin, glycogen.

PhysiologicalClassifi
cation ofCarbohydrates
The physiologic classification includes:
1. Simple Carbohydrates
These

include
sugars
like
monosaccharides, disaccharides and
oligosaccharides like trisaccharides and
tetrasaccharides. Simple carbohydrates
are easily digested basic sugars that
offer little health value for the body
when taken in large amounts.

 Foods that are high in simple sugars

and low in fiber increase your blood

sugar levels. Although fruits and
vegetables
contain
simple
carbohydrates, they are healthier
than processed foods like cookies
and cakes because they contain
fiber. This changes the way that your
body processes the sugars because
fiber slows down their absorption.

 It is therefore important to limit your

intake of simple sugars from

processed foods like:
Candy
Soda
Artificially sweetened syrups
Table sugar
White rice, bread, or pasta
Pastries and other desserts

 2. ComplexCarbohydrates
The
polysaccharides
are

complex
carbohydrates that are considered good
for health because it takes more time for
the body to break them down. They
usually have a low glycemic load, meaning
that you get lower amounts of sugar,
which is released at a slower rate,
producing small increases in blood sugar
levels, instead of the peaks and valleys
characteristic of simple sugars.

 Choose complex carbohydrates over

foods with simple carbohydrates by

making simple substitutions in your
meals. For example, choose brown
rice instead of your usual white rice,
or eat whole-wheat bread or pasta
instead of white bread or pasta.

FU N CTIO N S O F CARBO H YD RATES

Providing energy and regulating

blood glucose
Sparing the use of proteins for
energy
Breakdown of fatty acids and
preventing ketosis
Biological recognition processes
Flavor and Sweeteners
Dietary fiber.

P rovide energy

Among the enormous

metabolic
activities
the
liver
performs, it also includes regulating
the level of blood glucose. During
periods
of
food
consumption,
pancreatic beta cells sense the rise
in blood glucose and begin to secrete
the hormone insulin.

Insulin binds to many cells in

the body having appropriate receptors
for the peptide hormone and causes a
general uptake in cellular glucose. In
the liver, insulin causes the uptake of
glucose as well as the synthesis of
glycogen, a glucose storage polymer.
In this way, the liver is able to remove
excessive levels of blood glucose
through the action of insulin.

Sparing P rotein and P reventing K etosis

So why are carbohydrates important
if the body can use other carbon
compounds such as fatty acids and
ketones as energy?

First of all, maintaining a regular

intake of carbohydrates will prevent
protein from being used as an energy
source. Gluconeogenesis will slow down
and amino acids will be freed for the
biosyntheses of enzymes, antibodies,
receptors and other important proteins.

B reak dow n of fatty acid and prevent

ketosis

Furthermore, an adequate amount of

carbohydrates will prevent the

degradation of skeletal muscle and
other tissues such as the heart, liver,
and kidneys. Most importantly,
ketosis will be prevented

 . Although the brain will adapt to

using
ketones
as
a
fuel,
it
preferentially uses carbohydrates
and requires a minimum level of
glucose circulating in the blood in
order to function properly.

 Before

the
adaptation
process
occurs, lower blood glucose levels
may cause headaches in some
individuals. To prevent these ketotic
symptoms, it is recommended that
the average person consume at least
50 to 100g of carbohydrates per day.

Flavor and Sw eeteners

A less important function of

carbohydrates is to provide sweetness to

foods. Receptors located at the tip of the
tongue bind to tiny bits of carbohydrates
and send what humans perceive as a
"sweet" signal to the brain. However,
different sugars vary in sweetness. For
example, fructose is almost twice as
sweet as sucrose and sucrose is
approximately 30% sweeter than glucose.

 Sweeteners can be classified as

either nutritive or alternative.

Nutritive sweeteners have all been
mentioned before and include
sucrose, glucose, fructose, high
fructose corn syrup, and lactose.

 These types of sweeteners not only

impart flavor to the food, but can

also be metabolized for energy. In
contrast, alternative sweeteners
provide no food energy and include
saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame,
and acesulfame.

 Controversy over saccharin and

cyclamate as artificial sweeteners

still exists but aspartame and
acesulfame are used extensively in
many foods in the United States.

Aspartame and acesulfame

are both hundreds of times sweeter
than sucrose but only acesulfame is
able to be used in baked goods since
it is much more stable than
aspartame when heated.

D ietary Fiber

Dietary fibers such as

cellulose,
hemicelluloses,
pectin,
gum and mucilage are important
carbohydrates for several reasons.
Soluble dietary fibers like pectin,
gum and mucilage pass undigested
through the small intestine and are
degraded into fatty acids and gases
by the large intestine.

The fatty acids produced in this

way can either be used as a fuel for
the large intestine or be absorbed
into the bloodstream. Therefore,
dietary fiber is essential for proper
intestinal health.

B iological R ecognition P rocesses

Carbohydrates not only serve

nutritional functions, but are also
thought to play important roles in
cellular recognition processes. For
example, many immunoglobulin's
(antibodies) and peptide hormones
contain glycoprotein sequences.

These sequences are

composed of amino acids linked to
carbohydrates. During the course of
many
hours
or
days,
the
carbohydrate polymer linked to the
rest of the protein may be cleaved by
circulating enzymes or be degraded
spontaneously.

The liver can recognize

differences in length and may
internalize the protein in order to
begin its own degradation. In this
way, carbohydrates may mark the
passage of time for proteins.

D AILY REQ UIREM EN T O F CARBO H YD RATES

Minimum of it should be 100g

daily and maximum 70% of total
calories/day.

The carbohydrate calorie

should be at least 40% in balanced
diet.

D IG ESTIO N O F CARBO H YD RATES

Complex carbohydrates and
sugars are too large to be absorbed
through
intestinal
wall.
Only
monosaccharide can be absorbed in
blood stream.

D IG ESTIO N
PTYALIN CONVERTS STARCH TO

DEXTRIN AND MALTOSE

DIGESTION ACCOMPLISHEDIN
INTESTINE BY
INTESTINAL AMYLASE
SUCRASE
LACTASE
MALTASE
ISOMALTASE

 Starch converted to maltose and

isomaltose by the action of salivary

amylase ,pancreatic and intestinal
juice
Maltose converted to glucose by
the action of maltase
Isomaltose converted to glucose by
the action of isomaltase

 Sucrose converted to glucose and

fructose by the action of sucrase

Lactose converted to glucose and
galactose by the action of lactase

End product ofCH O digestion

Glucose
Fructose
Galactose

Absorbed in the small

intestine
The non digestable carbohydrate
are cellulose, hemicellulose,
pentosans, and galactans etc..

Sources ofcarbohydrate