Biomolecules

What are biomolecules?

 A biomolecule is a chemical compound found in living

organisms.
 These include chemicals that are composed of mainly
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus.
 Biomolecules are the building blocks of life and perform
important functions in living organisms.
 The four major types of biomolecules are carbohydrates, 
lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
Carbohydrates
 Biomolecules believed to be the most abundant of all organic compounds
 Majority of carbohydrates have carbon-hydrogen-oxygen ratio of 1:2:1
 The term carbohydrate literally means “hydrated carbon”
 Well known as great source of energy
• Carbohydrates play many important roles in biological systems.
• They represent the major form of chemical energy for both plants and
animals.
• In plants they represent the end product of photosynthesis, and therefore
connect all living systems to the sun’s sustaining light energy.
Types of Carbohydrates

Monosaccharide
Disaccharide
Polysaccharide
Monosaccharides
 Also called simple sugar because they are the monomers, or single structural units, of some
complex carbohydrates
 Monosaccharides contain 3 to 7 carbon atoms.
 Can be classified as aldoses or ketoses according to the placement of chemicals in the structure
 Aldoses are characterized by the presence of an aldehyde ( -CHO), usually at the terminal, or the first
carbon atom
 Ketoses, on the other hand, are characterized by having a carbonyl (C =O) group, or a ketone.
 Monosaccharides are
classified according to
the number of carbons
and whether they contain
an aldehyde or ketone.
 The “-ose” ending is used
to designate
carbohydrates.
Examples of Monosaccharides

 Pentose – includes the ribose found in ribonucleic

acid (RNA) and some vitamins
 Glucose – a hexose, a major source of energy for
all organisms
 Fructose- a hexose, found in most plants such as
sugarcane, sugar beets and corn.
Monosaccharide Derivatives

Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) comes from

glucose
Sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol and
mannitol (sweetening agents)
Importance of Monosaccharides

 Provides immediate energy to the organism that

takes them.
 Can be absorbed immediately through the digestive
tract all the way to the bloodstream because they
are smaller than other types of carbohydrates
Disaccharides
 Composed of two monosaccharides joined together through a process called
condensation reaction.
 In this process, dehydration synthesis takes place, wherein water is extracted
upon combining the two molecules.
 The result of the condensation reaction is the formation of the glycosidic bond,
a type of covalent bond that links a carbohydrate molecule to another molecule.
Examples of Disaccharides
 Sucrose (table sugar) – comes from combining glucose and fructose
 Use as sweeteners in making candies, ice cream, cake, cookies, breads, sauces and preserve foods.
 Lactose (milk sugar) – combination of glucose and galactose.
 Used in many processed dairy products
 Whey a-by product of dairy production that contains lactose used in making breads, cookies, cakes,
doughnuts and ice cream
 Maltose (malt or beer sugar) – combination of two glucose molecules
 Least sweet among previously mentioned disaccharides (not common sweetener)
 More common in making beer
Polysaccharides

Composed of at least three

monosaccharides
Polysaccharides are not sweet
Do not form crystal when water
molecules are removed
Polysaccharide’s molecular structure
 Linear polysaccharide form a rigid structure and is insoluble in water

 Branched polysaccharide are soluble in water

Importance of polysaccharides
 Used for energy storage, starch(plant) and glycogen(animals)
 Have many health benefits
 Immediate energy reserve in the body
 Help stabilize blood sugar and provide vitamins and minerals (mushrooms, berries, cereals and grains)
 Source of fiber (pectin)
 Give structure to organism like plants (cellulose) and food for animals
 Give structure to organism like fungi (chitin) and exoskeleton of some animals like shrimp, crab ,
krill, scorpion and many insects.
 Chitin also has antibacterial and antiviral properties, making it useful in medicine and in making
wound dressings, suture materials, cosmetics and various food items.