CARBOHYDRATES

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Carbohydrates are the most abundant organic compounds in PLANT WORLD.

Glucose is also called BLOOD SUGAR.
DIHYDROXY ACETONE, the major component for sunless tanning.
The two trioses are GLYCERALDEHDYE and DIHYDROXY ACETONE.
D-L configuration was proposed by EMIL FISCHER by just an assumption, but he was proven correct later.
PENULTIMATE CARBON is the farthest chiral carbon from the carbonyl functional group, or is the second
to the last carbon (before the alcohol group) from the carbonyl group.
D-RIBOSE and 2-DEOXY-D-RIBOSE are the most abundant pentoses in the biological world.
AMINO SUGARS are carbohydrates where on OH group is replaced by -NH2 group.
ANOMERIC CARBON is the chiral carbon formed upon cyclization of a sugar. This is the carbon of the
carbonyl group reduced by bonding with the hydroxyl terminal. Anomers are compounds that only differ in
anomeric carbon.
MUTAROTATION is the change in specific rotation that occurs when an or hemiacetal form of a
carbohydrate in aqueous solution is converted to an equilibrium mixture of the two forms.
GLYCOSIDE is a carbohydrate in which the OH in anomeric carbon is replaced with the OR group via the
glycosidic bond (C to the OR group).
ALDITOLS are the compounds that result from the reduction of the carbonyl compound of monosaccharides
into another OH group. D-Sorbitol is an example. These are used as a substitute for sweet foods.
URONIC ACID is the result of the oxidation of the terminal hydroxyl group of monosaccharides.
SUCROSE the most abundant disaccharide in the biological world.
BLOOD TYPE is determined by the trisaccharide or tetrasaccharide bonded on the surface of the red blood
cell. Type O lacks the terminal N-acetyl-D-galactosamine (thus, a trisaccharide only) while with the said
amino sugar, it is a Type A. If this amino sugar is replaced by D-Galactose, the blood type is B. The order is
Determining Sugar D-Galactose(-L-Fructose) N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine-RBC.
Most starches contain 20-25% Amylose and 75-80% Amylopectin. Amylose is composed of around 4000 Dglucose joined by -1,4-glycosidic bond while amylopectin has around 10 000 D-glucose bonded by -1,4glycosidic bond with considerable branching (of -1,6-glycosidic chain).
For animals, GLYCOGEN is the polysaccharide that exists. It is composed of around 1 000 000 D-Glucose
bonded by -1,4-glycosidic bond. In typical human, there are only 250 g of glycogen, divided almost equally
between liver and muscle.
COTTON is almost pure cellulose. Cellulose is a polysaccharide of D-glucose (~2200 glucose
units/molecule) linked by the -1,4-glycosidic bonds.
We cant digest cellulose because we do not have the -glucosidase enzyme.
GLUCOSAMINOGLYCANS are polysaccharides in which one of the monosaccharide units has a negatively
charged carboxylate (COO-) or sulfate group (OSO3-).
HYALURONIC ACID is a polysaccharide of glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine via -1,3-glycosidic
bond of MW ~ 105 to 107 g/mol providing a clear elastic gel that maintains the proper position of retina in the
eye.
HEPARIN is a sulfonated polysaccharide chain with the main function as anticoagulant, binding strongly
with antithrombin III, a plasma protein involved in clotting process.

LIPIDS
1. LIPIDS are insoluble in water, but soluble in hexane, acetone and diethyl ether.
2. The three most abundant fatty acids are palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid.

3. Most UNSATURATED fatty acids have a CIS-configuration; trans are rare.

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12:0 Lauric
16:1 Palmitoleic
14:0 Myristic
18:1 Oleic
16:0 Palmitic
18:2 Linoleic
18:0 Stearic
18:3 Linolenic
20:0 Arachidic
20:4 - Arachidonic
TOPICAL OILS (coconut and palm oils) are exceptions to the common oils derived from plants as 80%
unsaturated.
TRIGLYCERIDES are lipids which upon hydrolysis and acidification produces three fatty acids and glycerol.
HARDENING is the process of catalytic reduction of oil to fats.
During saponification, glycerol (propanetriol) is recovered via VACUUM DISTILLATION.
MICELLE is a spherical arrangement of organic molecules in water solution so that their hydrophobic part is
clustered inside and the outer surface, the hydrophilic part, is exposed to water molecules.
ALKYL BENZYL SULFONATES are the most widely used synthetic detergents while SODIUM
PERBORATE TETRAHYDRATE is the most common bleach.
PROSTAGLANDINS are a family of compound having the 20-Carbon skeleton of prostanoic acid notable for
their ability to heal gastric ulcers.
LEUKOTRIENES, primarily found in leukocytes of white blood cells, contain L-cysteine, glycine, and Lglutamic acid and are notable for its constricting effect on the smooth muscles of the lungs brought by
allergic reactions.
Release of THROMBOXANE triggers the vasoconstriction of blood cells during injury as well as platelet
aggregation.
STEROIDS, are a group of lipids that have tetracyclic ring structure. Mostly, the fusion of ring is trans, all
atoms and groups are in axial position and arrangement are in trans-anti-trans-anti- manner.
CHOLESTEROL (~140 g in normal adult, majority in membrane, a C27 molecule) is a white, water-insoluble,
waxy solid, found in blood plasma and is the parent steroid of adrenocorticoid hormones, bile acids, and
Vitamin D. It has 8 chiral centers, with 256 stereoisomers and only one of these is known to exist in nature.
LDL (LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN) is known as the bad cholesterol while HDL (HIGH-DENSITY
LIPOPROTEIN) is known as the good cholesterol because they are degraded in the liver instead of being
transported to other parts of the body which causes arteriosclerosis.
ESTRONE and ESTRADIOL are the two most important female sex hormones or estrogen.
PROGESTERONE is a hormone essential for preparing implantation of the fertilized egg.
ANDROGEN is the male steroid sex hormone, of which testosterone, a hormone that promotes the male
characteristics. Androgen is responsible for the secondary male characteristics.
BILE ACIDS, or cholic acids, are cholesterol-derived lipids secreted by the gall bladder to the intestine
which aids in absorption and emulsification of dietary fats.
PHOSPHOLIPID, or phosphoacylglycerol, the second most abundant naturally occurring lipid, is a
compound of glycerol esterified with two fatty acids and one phosphoric acid group.
LIPID BILAYER is a spontaneous arrangement of phospholipids so that it forms an ionic coating in which
polar head groups lie on the surface with the FLUID-MOSSAIC MODEL (Singer and Nicolson) as the most
satisfactory model to represent it. This bilayer is like the micelles with the same forces holding it.
Most snakes venom contains PHOSPHOLIPASE which catalyzes the formation of lysolecithin which
raptures the membrane of red blood cells.
VITAMIN A, or retinol, best found in cod-liver oil and fish oils, is fat-soluble vitamin noted for its participation
in the visual cycle in rod cells. Plants do not have retinol but -carotene, a provitamin that is cleaved in the
liver to produce retinol.
VITAMIN D helps in the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in the human body. Vitamin D3 is the most
abundant, produced in the skin of mammals by UV radiation. Its structure is derived from cholesterol.

30. VITAMIN K (quinone) is an essential vitamin for blood clotting where O 2 and CO2 are needed for the
process.
31. VITAMIN E (tocos birth, pherein to bring about), tocopherol, in its richest source: wheat germ oil, is a fatsoluble vitamin which acts as an antioxidant and proper functioning of the membranes of the red blood cells.
In rats, it is essential for normal reproduction.
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AMINO ACIDS AND PROTEINS

1. -AMINO ACIDS are those amino acids with its amino group adjacent to the carboxylic group. These amino
acids are the most important class.
2. ZWITTERION is an internal salt of an amino acid, which has no net charge.
3. SIPIDER SILK has the amino acids glycine (42%) and alanine (25%).
4. L-DESIGNATION does not mean that the amino acid will rotate the plane of polarized light in the (-)
direction but it imposes the similarity of an L-amino acid to the reference compound, L-glyceraldehyde.
Instead of this, R and S configuration is used.
5. ISOELECTRONIC POINT (pI) is the pH at which majority of the molecule in an aqueous solution has a net
charge of zero.
6. ELECTROPHORESIS is the process of separating compounds on the basis of their total charge and this is
used to separate mixtures of amino acids and proteins.
7. PEPTIDE BOND is the bond formed by linking of an -amino group of one amino acid to the -carboxyl
group of another amino acid.
8. N-TERMINAL AMINO ACID is the free NH3+ terminal and C-TERMINAL AMINO ACID is the free COOterminal of a series of amino acids linked by peptide bonds.
9. PRIMARY STRUCTURE (1) is the sequence of the amino acids in the polypeptide which indicates all the
covalent bonding, read from the N to the C-terminal amino acid.
10. FREDERICK SANGER determined the amino sequence of the hormone insulin.
11. TRYPSIN catalyzes the cleavage of arginine and lysine while CHYMOTRYPSIN catalyzes the cleavage of
phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.
12. EDMAN DEGRADATION the repetitive and selective cleaving of N-terminal amino acid for the
determination of the amino acid sequence.
13. LINUS PAULING first studied the geometry of peptide bonds discovering that it is planar.
14. SECONDARY STRUCTURE (2) is the ordered arrangement (conformation) of amino acid in localized
region of polypeptide or protein molecule. This structure is either -helix or -pleated sheet.
15. -HELIX has its polypeptide chain coiling as a spiral, commonly right-handed. Each peptide bond is trans
planar with 3.6 amino acids per turn of helix. It is stabilized by the hydrogen bonding of N-H and C=O bond
within the same polypeptide chain.
16. -PLEATED SHEET has its polypeptide section in parallel or antiparallel with each other. It is stabilized by
hydrogen bonding of N-H and C=O of the adjacent chain.
17. TERTIARY STRUCTURE (3) refers to the overall folding pattern and arrangement in space of all atoms in
a single polypeptide chain. The most important factors are the disulfide bond, hydrophobic interaction,
hydrogen bonding and salt linkages.
18. MYOGLOBIN consists of a single polypeptide chain of 153 amino acids with a single heme unit of one Fe +2
ion. Its 3 structure was discovered by John Kendrew and Max Perutz who shared the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in 1962.
19. QUATENARY STRUCTURE (4) is the arrangement of monomers into aggregation. Its major factor for
stabilization is the hydrophobic effect.
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NUCLEIC ACIDS AND DNA

1. 1.8 METERS would be the length of an uncoiled DNA in the chromosome of a single cell of human.
2. NUCLEIC ACID is a biopolymer consisting of three monomer units: amine base, D-ribose, and phosphoric
acid.
3. NUCLEOSIDE is the building block of nucleic acids consisting of D-ribose or 2-deoxy-D-ribose bonded to a
pyrimidine or purine by a -N-glycosidic bond.
4. NUCLEOTIDE is a nucleoside bonded with phosphoric acid group.
5. PRIMARY STRUCTURE (COVALENT BACKBONE) is the sequence of bases along the pentosephosphodiester backbone of a DNA or RNA read from 5 end to the 3 end (i.e., TGACAGCTAAG).
6. SECONDARY STRUCTURE (DOUBLE HELIX) is the ordered arrangement of nucleic acid in the strand, as
determined initially by Rosalind Franklin and later completely (double helix) by James Watson and Francis
Crick.
7. ZIDOVUDINE is an analog of deoxythymidine which is effective against HIV-1.
8. A DNA is said to be RELAXED if it has no twists other than its double helix coil, or if it has no clearly defined
tertiary structure.
9. TERTIARY STRUCTURE (SUPERCOILED DNA) is the three-dimensional arrangement of all atoms of
nucleic acid one of which is induced by perturbations in circular DNA and the other as introduced by
coordination of DNA with the nuclear protein histone.
10. CIRCULAR DNA is when the 5 and 3 of each strand are joined by phosphodiester group which are most
common in bacteria and viruses.
11. HISTONE is a protein particularly rich in basic amino acids lysine and arginine and is found associated with
DNA molecule.
12. CHROMATIN is the complex between the negatively charged DNA and the positively charged histone.
13. Cells contain up to eight times RNA as DNA. rRNA is the most abundant in the cell comprising 82% of the
RNA while the least is the mRNA which is only 2%.
14. TELOMERES are the repeating DNA strings that cap chromosomes. They are the key for aging.
15. TRANSFER RNA (tRNA) are the molecules which have the lowest molecular weight of all proteins.
16. CODON is the triplet of nucleotide in the mRNA necessary for storage of genetic information where Marshall
Nirenberg was the first to decipher the code by finding UUU as Phenylalanine.
17. RESTRICTION ENDONUCLEASE is an enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis of a particular phosphodiester
bond within a DNA strand.
18. MAXAM-GILBERT METHOD is a method of sequencing nucleic acid by base-specific chemical cleavage.
19. FREDERICK SANGER devised the method of chain termination or dideoxy method by interrupting DNApolymerase catalyzed synthesis. Sangers method is most widely used.
20.PRIMER is an oligonucleotide capable of forming short section of double-stranded DNA.