Note

Tour of Atlantic Superstore in Sydney River

TUESDAY 22 MARCH,

10:25 AM START, 11 AM FINISH

Lecture 21- 3 March 2016

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
Definition
-hydrate of carbon

-hydrate means water

-carbon is an element
Carbohydrates
Definition
-literally a carbohydrate then is a
hydrate of carbon

-remember water is H2O

-thus they contain carbon, hydrogen and

oxygen

-contain 1 oxygen atom and one carbon

atom for every two hydrogens

-thus overall formula is CH2O

Source

-plants take carbon dioxide from air, water from

the soil and energy from the sun to make
carbohydrates
Types

-simple, complex
-Types of Carbohydrate

-Simple

-defined by the way sugar units are

linked together

-sugar units are called saccharides

-a sugar unit is 6 carbons (frequently)

Types of Carbohydrate
-Simple
-simple includes monosaccharides and
disaccharides

-monosaccharides are one sugar unit

-eg glucose (blood sugar) and fructose
(fruits and vegetables)

-disaccharides are two sugar units

-eg sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (milk
sugar) and maltose ( occurs when the body
digests starch)
 mono- and disaccharides give
varying degree of sweetness to foods
Complex

-Oligosaccharides

-3-10 sugar units linked together

-dried beans, peas contain the 2 most

common oligosaccharides
Complex

-Oligosaccharides

-body cannot not break down these two

most common oligosaccharides on its own
so it requires bacterial enzymes that make
these 2 oligosaccharides into gas

-this explains why one gets gas after eating

beans and peas
Complex
Polysaccharides

-more than 10 sugar units linked together

-some are straight chains

-other are branched chains

Polysaccharides
-the way that the sugars units are linked to one
another dictates whether the body can digest
polysaccharides

-we can digest starch but not dietary fibre

- some dietary fibre can be digested by

some bacteria in the large intestine
-in the process of such bacterial
digestion gas is made
Polysaccharides

-plants store sugars as starch

-starch comes in two forms

-amylose and amylopectin
Polysaccharides

-when we eat plants we eat starch (eg bread or

potatoes)

-animals store sugars as glycogen

-when an animal is slaughtered glycogen

is broken down as part of the death
process down so we eat only trivial
amounts of glycogen or no glycogen at
all
Polysaccharides

-dietary fibre provides structure to plant cell walls

-all types of plants have dietary fibre

including fruits, vegetables, legumes and
whole grains
Polysaccharides

-fibres include
-cellulose (long straight chains)

-pectins (found especially in fruits)

-pectins mixed with acid give
firmness to jellies and jams

-gums- used in ice cream to thicken it

Polysaccharides

-fibres are classified as water soluble and

water insoluble
-this means that they dissolve in water (water
soluble) or that they do not dissolve in water
(water insoluble)

-pectins and gums dissolve in water (water

soluble)

-cellulose does not dissolve in water (water

insoluble)
Polysaccharides
-foods rich in soluble fibre
fruits- apples, oranges, cranberries

vegetables-asparagus, broccoli,carrots

nuts and seeds-pecans, peanuts, walnuts

legumes-most legumes

grains-oat bran, oatmeal

Polysaccharides
-foods rich in insoluble fibre
fruits- apples, bananas, cherries

vegetables-sprouts, broccoli, red cabbage

nuts and seeds-almonds, sesame seeds,

walnuts

legumes-most legumes

grains-brown rice, whole wheat breads

Digestion- breaking down foods and their nutrients
in digestive tract -eg carbohydrates

Absorption- moving nutrients across intestinal wall

-eg carbohydrates

Transport-moving nutrients around in body -eg

carbohydrates