Structures and

Functions of
Biological Molecules
Chemical Structure of Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the sugars,
starches and fibers found in fruits,
grains, vegetables and milk
products. Though often maligned in
trendy diets, carbohydrates — one
of the basic food groups — are
important to a healthy diet.
Carbohydrates have six major
functions within the body:
 Providing energy and regulation of blood
glucose.
 Sparing the use of proteins for energy.
 Breakdown of fatty acids and preventing
ketosis.
 Biological recognition processes.
 Flavor and Sweeteners.
 Dietary fiber.
Types of Carbohydrates
Monosaccharides are the simplest
form of carbohydrates. They can join
together and form
complex carbohydrates, for example:
2 monosaccharides form
disaccharides, 3-10 of them form
oligosaccharides and 11 or more of
them form polysaccharides.
Glucose is a type of sugar found in
food. Galactose and fructose, two other
types of sugars, combine
with glucose and with each other to
form longer chains of sugars. These
chains of sugars are what make
up carbohydrates.
Fructose is more commonly found
together with glucose and sucrose in
honey and fruit juices. Fructose, along
with glucose are the monosaccharides
found in disaccharide,
sucrose. Fructose is classified as a
monosaccharide, the most important
ketose sugar, a hexose, and is a
reducing sugar.
Galactose is a simple sugar, which
belongs to
simple carbohydrates. Galactose is
composed of the same elements as
glucose, but has a different
arrangement of atoms. Name origin:
From the Greek gala = milk, and -ose,
which denotes sugar.
The three most
important disaccharides are sucrose,
lactose and maltose. They are formed
from the a forms of the appropriate
monosaccharides. Sucrose is a non-
reducing sugar. Lactose and maltose
are reducing sugars.
Sucrose is a simple carbohydrate that
may be consumed in refined form, such
as table sugar, honey or maple syrup.
One level teaspoon of table sugar
equals 15 grams of carbohydrates and
contains approximately 15 calories.
Lactose is the principal sugar
(or carbohydrate) naturally found in
milk and dairy. Lactose is composed
of glucose and galactose, two simpler
sugars used as energy directly by our
body. ... Although glucose could be
found in several types of
foods, lactose is the only source of
galactose
Maltose is made from two glucose
units: Maltose or malt sugar is the
least common disaccharide in
nature. It is present in germinating
grain, in a small proportion in corn
syrup, and forms on the partial
hydrolysis of starch.
Oligosaccharide is
a carbohydrate polymers comprise
three to ten monosaccharides, or,
simple sugars. They were linked
together mostly by O-glycosidic bond
through condensation reaction between
an anomeric carbon of a
monosaccharide and the other.
carbohydrates. , raffinose
and stachyose), which contains three
to 10 saccharide units; these
compounds, which are found in beans
and other legumes and cannot be
digested well by humans, account for
the gas-producing effects of these
foods.
Starch is often produced in plants as a
way of storing energy. It exists in two
forms: amylose and amylopectin.
Both are made from α-glucose.
Amylose is an unbranched polymer of
α-glucose. The molecules coil into a
helical structure. It forms a colloidal
suspension in hot water. Amylopectin is
a branched polymer of α-glucose. It is
completely insoluble in water.
Cellulose is a third polymer made from
glucose. But this time it's made from β-
glucose molecules and the polymer
molecules are 'straight'.
Glycogen is amylopectin with very short
distances between the branching side-
chains. Starch from plants is
hydrolysed in the body to produce
glucose. Glucose passes into the cell
and is used in metabolism. Inside the
cell, glucose can be polymerised to
make glycogen which acts as a
carbohydrate energy store.