2.

3 Carbohydrates &
Lipids
Essential idea: Compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are used to
supply and store energy

NOS: Evaluating claims – health claims made about lipids in diets need to be assessed
TOK: there are conflicting views as to the harms and benefits of fats in diets. How do we
decide between competing views?
 Carbohydrate - monosaccharide
2.3.U1 Monosaccharide monomers are linked together by condensation reactions to form disaccharide and
polysaccharide polymers
• Recall how to draw a glucose molecule… (alpha D vs beta D)
• Glucose C6H12O6 is a single molecule of a hexose
(6 carbon) sugar, one of the the most basic unit
of a carbohydrate = monosaccharide

• It is the most common monosaccharide that

fuels respiration (immediate source of energy).

• There are also other monosaccharides.

• Galactose (lactose = milk sugar) is also a hexose

sugar, it is less sweet and most commonly found Can you spot the difference?
in milk.
Other monosaccharides
• Fructose (fruit)
is a hexose sugar, but 5 in the ring
• commonly found in fruits and honey
• It is the sweetest naturally occurring
sugar

• Recall how to draw ribose…

• Ribose, another pentose sugar, forms the
back bone of RNA
• Deoxyribose forms the back bone of DNA
 You have to remember the
Disaccharides monomers of these disaccharide

• two monosaccharide monomers

linked together via a glycosidic bond.
• This happens via a condensation
process (water form)
• Maltose, lactose & galactose
• Often used for transportation
 Polysaccharide 1: Cellulose
2.3.A1 Structure and function of cellulose and starch in plants and glycogen in humans
• When many monomers linked together  they form a polysaccharide
• cellulose = made up of β – D – glucose monomers (animals cannot digest)
• Linked together in 1-4 arrangement (carbon 1 bound to carbon 4) inversely
• Straight, not curved and not branched
• Very strong tensile strength = cell wall of plants – due to strong hydrogen bonds between
chains of cellulose
Polysaccharide 2: Starch (plants)
2.3.A1 Structure and function of cellulose and starch in plants and glycogen in humans
• In starch, there are two forms: amylose & amylopectin
• Plants store carbohydrate as starch
• Starch grains in chloroplasts, potato cells etc • About 10-30% of starch
• Formed from ⍺ – glucose in 1-4
linkage arrangement
• Unbranched
• All molecules oriented same
way
• This causes it to curve and form
a helix chain
• Harder to digest & less soluble
• But takes up less space -->
preferred form for long term
storage
• About 70-90% of starch
• Formed from ⍺ – glucose in
1-4 linkage bond
• And also 1-6 linkage bond,
creating a branched molecule
• It has a globular shape
• easier to digest*
• But take up more space
• *xtra: more terminal glucose
also makes it easier to
hydrolyse for use
 Polysaccharide 3: Glycogen (animals)
2.3.A1 Structure and function of cellulose and starch in plants and glycogen in humans

• Glycogen in the storage form in

animals & fungi
• Eg: glucose is converted to
glycogen and vice versa in the
liver
• Similar to amylopectin but much
more highly branched
• ⍺ – glucose in 1-4 linkage bond
• But many more 1-6 linkage bond
• Compact molecules
• Easy to add or remove glucose
Make a table to summarise the three different polysaccharides
Include the type of monomer, the linkage, shape, branch or un
branched, found where, used as what, soluble or insoluble

Monosaccharides and
disaccharides are
soluble in water

Thus, organisms convert

them to starch/glycogen
– polysaccharides for
storage as they are
compact, large and
insoluble in water – will
not affect osmotic
pressure.
 Genetically Modified Potatoes
Utilisation: Potatoes have been genetically modified to reduce the level of amylose to produce a more effective
adhesive
• Potatoes contain two forms of starch – a branched form (amylopectin = 80%) and an unbranched form
(amylose = 20%)
• Amylopectin is responsible for the useful industrial properties of starch (adhesives, textiles, paper, etc.)
• Amylose forms a gel which makes potato starch less stable and more difficult to use for industrial
purposes
• Amflora potatoes have been genetically modified to only produce amylopectin by inhibiting the amylose-
producing enzyme
Monosaccharides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4itgKrEzak
Disaccharides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZdz1yiAO5U
Polysaccharides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvplWN21grM
Starch & Glycogen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNHg_jV2PMo
Cellulose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H73J-hWx-zA
Saturated & Unsaturated Fatty Acids
2.3.U2 Fatty acids can be saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated
2.3.U3 Unsaturated fatty acids can be cis or trans isomers

This is a common saturated fatty acid chain (of carbon) – CH3 – (CH2)n – COOH
Saturated = maximum no. of hydrogen, cannot add any more hydrogen
The length of the carbon chain can vary
 Trans – isomer unsaturated fatty acid Cis – isomer unsaturated fatty acid
• An unsaturated fatty acid chain =
means there are double bonds
between the carbon atoms

• 1 double bond (C=C) = mono

unsaturated
Hydrogen atom on the opposite side of Hydrogen atom on the same side of
• More than 1 double bonds = poly carbon double-bond carbon double bond
unsaturated
• The number and position of Trans form produce a straight carbon Cis form produce a bend at the carbon
chain double bond
double bond can vary
Saturated fats are linear and can be packed more
closely to each other  solid animal fat
Trans fatty acids do not commonly occur in nature and are
typically produced by an industrial process called hydrogenation

Cis isomer of unsaturated fats can

produce ‘kinks’ (bends) due to their
double-bond  more space in between,
more flexible  liquid vegetable oil

* This is also important to maintain fluidity

in the cell membrane.
 Lipids - Triglycerides
2.3.U4 Triglycerides are formed by condensation
from three fatty acids and one glycerol

• Lipids are glycerol combined with three

fatty acid chains
• So there are also known as triglycerides
• It is a condensation reaction
• A covalent bond called ester bond is
formed between the fatty acid and
glycerol molecules (the green one)
Lipids – as long term storage
2.3.A3 Lipids are more suitable for long term storage in humans
than carbohydrates

• Lipids are used as a long term storage of energy in

humans while carbohydrates (polysaccharides) are
for short term storage
• Lipids that are used are fats – stored in specialised
adipose tissue under the skin / around some organs

• Also insulate against cold, protect organs

• Phospholipids in cell membrane
• Hormone signalling – Steroids
• Electrical insulator (myelin sheath) in neuron cells
 Stored in Liver Stored in adipose tissue

Glycogen is still needed as it breaks down easily and is transported

by blood. Fats in adipose tissue takes a longer time to mobilise it
Triglycerides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55oCUwxKpsk
Roles of Triglycerides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC1TKemo5vY
Phospholipids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H44rdXEVXGg
Health risks of trans fats and saturated fatty acids
2.3.A2 Scientific evidence for health risks of trans fats and saturated fatty acids

Read & summarise the following article:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-truth-about-fats-bad-and-good

• Main concern: Coronary heart disease  where fatty deposits block

arteries, leading to blood clot & heart attack
Evidence for Evidence against
Correlation between saturated fatty acid intake & Maasai of Kenya have diet rich in saturated fats but
rates of CHD (but correlation =/= causation) CHD is unknown among them
Mediterranean countries diet is rich in Genetic factors in these population could be
monounsaturated cis fatty acids (olive oil) and CHD is responsible. (high cholesterol could be genetically
low in these populations. influenced) or other diet factors
Correlation between amount of trans fat & CHD.
Other risk factors were tested to see if there is
correlation, none did.
Patients dies of CHD has high concentration of trans
fats in fatty deposits in the arteries, giving a causal
link.
 Health claims about Lipids
2.3.A4 Evaluation of evidence and the methods used to obtain the evidence for health claims made about lipids

• Evaluation = strengths/ implication & limitation

• Health claims = should be based on scientific research
Implication – do the health claims (regarding lipids affecting rate of CHD) is
supported by research results strongly, moderately or not at all?

Strengths – are the research methods rigorous, results valid and can form strong
evidence?

Limitations – are there uncertainties about the conclusion because of weakness

in research methods?

These are things you must consider when doing your IA. We are going to look at research regarding lipids as an example.
 Lipid hypotheses – does high cholesterol really cause cardiovascular disease?
• Statin - lowering cholesterol levels, and reducing the rates of CHD, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke.

• patients over the age of 60 actually lived longer if they had higher LDL levels, directly contradicting the
hypothesis that you are more likely to die of heart disease the higher your cholesterol levels are.

• An experimental drug was designed to reduce rates of heart disease by lowering patients’ LDL levels, but
the research was discontinued early because it was linked to an increased risk of mortality and heart
disease

Are these claims backed up by research?

Are the research rigorous and of value?
  Is there a strong correlation between
intake of lipid investigated and rate of
disease / health benefits?

 How large is the difference between

mean (average) rate of disease with
different lipid intakes?
Small difference – due to chance, may not
be significant

 How widely spread is the data?

 Look at spread of data in scatter graph or
size of error bars on bar chart.
 If the data is too widely spread – means
difference are less significant.
If error bars overlap, means more likely to be not significant
difference between results
 Research methodology limitation/uncertainties
• Was the measure of health a valid one? Measuring cholesterol level is more valid than just
looking at BMI
• How large is the sample size? (need to look at data of thousands of people to get reliable results)
• Were they similar results when replicated in different sample?
• Are the sample in sex, age, state of health and lifestyle similar/even? – unless you are only
looking at a certain population – also difficult to effectively control variables like lifestyle
• If samples were uneven/not well controlled, were the results adjusted to eliminate effect of
others factors?
• Is the data gathered from human/animal trials? Animal trials might not be as applicable to
human trials. Not many would volunteer to take extreme amount of lipids
• Were the measurements about lipid intake and rate of disease reliable? People in survey may lie,
did not record their intake accurately, disease might have been misdiagnosed
David Sackett, often referred to as the “father of
evidence-based medicine,” once famously said:

“Half of what you’ll learn in medical school will be shown

to be either dead wrong or out of date within five years of
your graduation; the trouble is that nobody can tell you
which half–so the most important thing to learn is how to
learn on your own.”

Doctors & Scientists have to constantly critically evaluate

science research, how to read literature, are they of good
quality, do they have reliable replicated results, are they
bias-funding of research?
TOK: Fats – Good or bad? Debate time!
There are conflicting views as to the harms and benefits of fats in diets. How do we decide between competing
views?
 BMI
2.3.S2 Determination of body mass index by calculation or use of a nomogram

Body Fat percentage measurement would be

more important:

https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/how-t
o-measure-your-body-fat.html

Muscle weight more than fat, so being heavier

doesn’t means you have more fat
International - mindedness
• Variation in different health problems around the world
• Geographical range of obesity, kwashiorkor, anorexia nervosa,
coronary heart disease, dietary energy deficiency, marasmus