20 Carbohydrates
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
- Discuss the role of carbohydrates in cells and in the extracellular materials of animals and plants
- Explain carbohydrate classifications
- List common monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides
Most people are familiar with carbohydrates, one type of macromolecule, especially when it comes to what we eat. To lose weight, some individuals adhere to “low-carb” diets. Athletes, in contrast, often “carb-load” before important competitions to ensure that they have enough energy to compete at a high level. Carbohydrates are, in fact, an essential part of our diet. Grains, fruits, and vegetables are all natural carbohydrate sources that provide energy to the body, particularly through glucose, a simple sugar that is a component of starch and an ingredient in many staple foods. Carbohydrates also have other important functions in humans, animals, and plants.
Molecular Structures
The ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen is 1:2:1 in carbohydrate molecules. This formula also explains the origin of the term “carbohydrate”: the components are carbon (“carbo”) and the components of water (hence, “hydrate”). Scientists classify carbohydrates into three subtypes: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.
Monosaccharides
Monosaccharides (mono- = “one”; sacchar- = “sweet”) are simple sugars, the most common of which is glucose. In monosaccharides, the number of carbons usually ranges from three to seven. Most monosaccharide names end with the suffix -ose. If the sugar has an aldehyde group (the functional group with a C=O double bond on an end carbon), it is an aldose, and if it has a ketone group (C=O on an internal carbon), it is a ketose. Depending on the number of carbons in the sugar, they can be trioses (three carbons), pentoses (five carbons), and/or hexoses (six carbons). Figure 3.4 illustrates monosaccharides.
The chemical formula for glucose is C6H12O6. In humans, glucose is an important source of energy. During cellular respiration, energy released from glucose helps make adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Plants synthesize glucose using carbon dioxide and water, and glucose in turn provides energy requirements for the plant.
Galactose (part of lactose, or milk sugar) and fructose (found in sucrose, in fruit) are other common monosaccharides. Although glucose, galactose, and fructose all have the same chemical formula (C6H12O6), they differ structurally and chemically (and are therefore isomers) because of the different arrangement of functional groups (Figure 3.5).
Visual Connection
What kind of sugars are these, aldose or ketose?
Glucose, galactose, and fructose are isomeric monosaccharides (hexoses), meaning they have the same chemical formula but have slightly different structures. Glucose and galactose are aldoses, and fructose is a ketose.
Monosaccharides can exist as a linear chain or as ring-shaped molecules. In aqueous solu