The Carbohydrates can be classified In four main classes: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.
Carbohydrates are biological molecules made up of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. In biochemistry, carbohydrates are synonyms for saccharides, a group that includes sugars, starches and cellulose.
Carbohydrates perform many functions in living organisms. Polysaccharides serve to store energy (such as starch and glycogen) and as structural components (cellulose in plants).
Carbon monosaccharide five ribose is an important component of many enzymes and is the basis of the genetic molecule known as RNA .
Saccharides and their derivatives include many important biomolecules that play major roles in the immune system, fertilization, pathogenesis production, blood clotting and development.
In food science, the term carbohydrate usually means any food that is rich in complex carbohydrate starches, such as cereals, pasta, and bread; Or simple carbohydrates like sugar, found in sweets.
Carbohydrates are found in a wide variety of foods. Starch and sugar are important carbohydrates in our diet. Starch is abundant in potatoes, corn, rice and other cereals.
Classification of carbohydrates
Monosaccharides
They are referred to as simple sugars; Are the most basic unit of carbohydrates. They are fundamental units of carbohydrates and can not be hydrolyzed into simpler compounds.
They are the simplest form of sugar and usually have no color, are soluble in water and are crystalline solids; Some have a sweet taste. Examples of some common monosaccharides include fructose, glucose and galactose.
Monosaccharides are the basis on which disaccharides and polysaccharides are built. Some sources of this type of carbohydrates include fruits, nuts, vegetables and sweets.
- Glucose
It is a simple sugar that circulates in the blood of animals like glycemia. It is created during photosynthesis of water and carbon dioxide, using energy from sunlight. It is the most important energy source for cellular respiration.
It is found in the sugar of the grapes and in the dextrose
- Galactose
It is a monosaccharide sugar that is less sweet than fructose. It can be found as a component of lactose in milk.
- Fructose
Also called levulose, it is a simple monosaccharide found in many plants, where it is often linked with glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose.
It is absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. Pure and dry fructose is quite sweet, white, crystalline, and odorless. It is the most soluble of all sugars.
Fructose is found in honey, in flowers, in most tubers and in berries.
Disaccharides
This type of carbohydrate is formed when two monosaccharides are linked by a glycosidic bond. Like monosaccharides, these are also soluble in water.
The union of simple sugar molecules occurs in a condensation reaction involving the removal of the water molecule from functional groups. Along with other reactions, these are vital in metabolism
Common examples include sucrose, lactose and maltose. The most common examples have 12 carbon atoms. The difference in these disaccharides is the atomic position within the molecule.
Sucrose
It is a natural and common carbohydrate found in many plants and plant parts. Sucrose is often extracted and refined from sugar cane and sugar beet for human consumption.
The process of refining modern industrial sugar often involves the crystallization of this compound, often known as table sugar or simply sugar.
This compound plays a central role as an additive in food production and in human consumption around the world.
- Lactose
It is a disaccharide composed of galactose and glucose found in milk. Lactose makes up about 2-8% of the milk, although it can be extracted from it.
Oligosaccharides
It is a saccharide polymer containing a small number of simple sugars. Oligosaccharides can have many functions, including recognition of cells and their connection. For example, glycolipids play an important role in the immune response.
- Glycolipids
They are lipids with a glycosidically bound carbohydrate. Its main role is to maintain membrane stability and facilitate cell recognition.
Carbohydrates are found on the surface of the entire membrane of the eukaryotic cell .
Polysaccharides
They are molecules of polymeric carbohydrates composed of large chains of monosaccharide units linked by glucosidic bonds.
They have a large structural spectrum, from linear to highly expanded. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as glycogen and starch, or structural polysaccharides such as cellulose.
Polysaccharides can be found in tubers, cereals, meat, fish, grains, and vegetable leaves.
- Glycogen
It is a multi-glucose glucose polysaccharide that serves as a form of energy storage in humans, animals, fungi and bacteria.
The polysaccharide structure represents the largest form of glucose storage in the body. In humans, glycogen is made and stored primarily in liver cells and muscles, hydrated with 3-4 parts of water.
Glycogen functions as a secondary storage of energy in the long term, storing the main energy sources in adipose tissue.
Muscle glycogen is converted to glucose by muscle cells and liver glycogen is converted to glucose so that it can be used throughout the body, including the central nervous system.
- Cellulose
It is an organic compound, consisting of a linear chain of hundreds or thousands of linked glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, like many forms of algae.
Some species of bacteria secrete it to form a biofilm. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on planet Earth.
It is mainly used to produce paper. Smaller quantities are converted into a series of derivative products such as cellophane and rayon.
References
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- Dissacharide. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
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- Carbohydrates. Retrieved from chemistry.elmhurst.edu.
- Glucose. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
- Fructose. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
- Galactose. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
- Glycolipid. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
- Carbohydrates (2012). Recovered from infonutricion.com.
- Carbohydrate. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
- Polysaccharides. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
- Cellulose. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.
- Glycogen. Retrieved from wikipedia.org.