Carbohydrate Metabolism

Joel Kapenda
Lecture 1 Function of carbohydrate
Lecture 2 The classification of carbohydrates
Lecture 3 Glycolysis
Lecture 4 The fates of pyruvate
Lecture 5 Gluconeogenesis
Lecture 6 The pentose phosphate pathway of
glucose oxidation
Lecture 7 Citric acid cycle
Lecture 1 Function of carbohydrate
What are Carbohydrates (saccharides) ?

Carbohydrate is an organic compound with the

general formula Cm(H2O)n, which consists of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen, the last two in the 2:1 atom ratio.
Carbohydrates are hydrates of carbon, hence their name.

Carbohydrate, (C-H2O)n = “Carbon + Water”

Where are Carbohydrates?
Function of Carbohydrates ?
Carbohydrates in food are important
sources of energy.
Energy sources and structural elements

Energy sources

Cell wall
Energy sources and structural elements
Bioactive substance——Glycoproteins and
Glycolipids
 Function of Carbohydrates

 Source of energy
 Structure (cotton fibers: cellulose )
 Building blocks
 Cellular recognition
The classification of carbohydrates
（ Saccharides ）
 1 Monosaccharide

• The generic name of the simplest carbohydrates.

•Monosaccharides can not be hydrolysised to give
smaller carbohydrates.
Monosaccharides can be classified
according to the number of carbons:

 Triose 3 carbons
 Tetrose 4 carbons
 Pentose 5 carbons
 Hexose 6 carbons
 Heptose 7 carbons
Important hexose :
Glucose , fructose , galactose, mannose
 
Pentose ：

D-Ribose
2 Oligosaccharide

Any molecule that contains a small number (2 to

about 20) of monosaccharide residues
connected by glycosidic linkages.
Oligosaccharide

Maltose

1 4
  Sucrose
It is formed by plants
but not by animals.
1 2
1 2
  Lactose

Lactose occurs naturally in milk but rarely in plants.

Cellobiose
 3 Polysaccharide
 An alternative name for glycan ;

Any linear or branched polymer consisting of
monosaccharide residues. Important polysaccharides
include glycogen, starch and cellulose .
 Starch


Energy store of plants
  Amylose

It can be made of several thousand glucose units.

In amylose, the 1st carbon on one glucose
molecule is linked to the 4th carbon on the next
glucose molecule (α(1→4) bonds).
Amylose is soluble in water.
 
Amylopectin

Glucose units are linked in a linear way with α(1→4)

glycosidic bonds. Branching takes place with α(1→6)
bonds occurring every 24 to 30 glucose units.
It is not soluble in water.
 Glycogen
Glycogen is found mainly in the
liver and skeletal muscle.

Muscle:
energy (ATP)
production.
Liver: balance
blood glucose
levels.
 Cellulose

A linear, unbranched β l-4 glucan molecular
Lecture 3 Glycolysis
In glycolysis, a molecule of glucose is broken down in a
series of enzyme-catalyzed reactions to yield two
molecules of the three-carbon compound pyruvate .
During the sequential reactions of glycolysis, some of
the free energy released from glucose is conserved in
the form of ATP and NADH.
 First stage of carbohydrate metabolism.

 Glycolysis was first discovered by Gustav Embden

and Otto Meyerhof and Parnus. Glycolysis is named
as EMP
 Simple sugars are broken down to pyruvate
 No oxygen needed.
 All life uses this process.
 There are 10 steps in glycolysis.
 1 The Reaction of the glycolysis (Two Phases)


Preparatory phase （ step①-⑤ ）：
Phosphorylation of glucose and its
conversion to glyceraldehyde 3-
phosphate

Payoff phase （ step⑥-⑩ ）：
Oxidative conversion of glyceraldehyde 3-
phosphate to pyruvate and the coupled
formation of ATP and NADH
 (1) Phosphorylation of Glucose

or glucokinase

Transfer of a phosphoryl group from ATP to glucose

(2) Isomerization :Conversion of Glucose 6-
Phosphate to Fructose 6-Phosphate
(3) Phosphorylation of Fructose 6-Phosphate to Fructose
1,6-Bisphosphate
(4) Cleavage of Fructose 1,6-Bisphosphate
（ 5 ） Interconversion of the Triose Phosphates
(6) Oxidation of Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate to
1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate

Oxidation and phosphorylation, yielding a high-energy

mixed-acid anhydride
 (7) Phosphoryl Transfer from 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate
to ADP

Transfer of a high-energy phosphoryl group to ADP, yielding ATP

(8) Conversion of 3-Phosphoglycerate to 2-Phosphoglycerate
(9) Dehydration to an energy-rich enol ester

PEP
(10) Transfer of the Phosphoryl Group from
Phosphoenolpyruvate to ADP

Transfer of a high-energy phosphoryl group to ADP, yielding ATP


For each molecule of glucose that passes
through the preparatory phase (a), two
molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
are formed; both pass through the payoff
phase (b), Pyruvate is the end product of the
second phase of glycolysis.

For each glucose molecule, two ATP are
consumed in the preparatory phase and four
ATP are produced in the payoff phase, giving
a net yield of two ATP per molecule of
glucose converted to pyruvate.
 The glycolytic breakdown of glucose is the
sole source of metabolic energy in some
mammalian tissues and cell types
(erythrocytes, renal medulla, brain, and
sperm, for example).

 Many anaerobic microorganisms are

entirely dependent on glycolysis.
 ATP and NADH Formation Coupled to Glycolysis


During glycolysis some of the energy of the
glucose molecule is conserved in ATP, while
much remains in the product, pyruvate. The
overall equation for glycolysis is
 Regulation of glycolysis
Three glycolytic reactions(the reactions catalyzed
by hexokinase, PFK-1, and pyruvate kinase) are
irreversible.

1. Phosphofructokinase （ PFK ）
Inhibited by ： ATP ， Citrate
Activated by ： AMP ， 2,6-bisphosphate （ F-2,6-BP ）
2 Hexokinase
Inhibited by ： G-6-P

3 pyruvate kinase
Inhibited by ： ATP
Activated by ： FBP
Lecture 4 The fates of pyruvate
 Three catabolic routes.

1. oxidized to acetyl-CoA
2. Ethanol fermentation
3. Lactic acid fermentation
 Lactic acid fermentation

Under anaerobic conditions, reduction of pyruvate

provides a means of reoxidizing the NADH produced
in the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
reaction of glycolysis converted to lactate.
Lactic acid fermentation
 Ethanol fermentation

The reduction of acetaldehyde to ethanol by NADH,

under anaerobic conditions
Ethanol fermentation
 Aerobic pathways for pyruvate

The five coenzymes participating in this reaction: TPP,

Lipoic Acid , CoA-SH, NAD+, FAD,
 The Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Consists
of Three Distinct Enzymes

 Pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1)

 Dihydrolipoyl transacetylase (E2)
 Dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase(E3)