Carbohydrates and Their Classification: by Hasnat Tariq

CARBOHYDRATES
AND THEIR
CLASSIFICATION
BY HASNAT TARIQ
Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrates are the most abundant biomolecules on Earth.
• A carbohydrate is a biological molecule consisting
of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a
hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water); in other words, with
the empirical formula (CH2O)n.
• Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones, or substances
that yield such compounds on hydrolysis. Some carbohydrates also
contain nitrogen, phosphorus, or sulfur.
Role of Carbohydrates in Living
Organisms
• Carbohydrates perform numerous roles in living organisms.
Polysaccharides serve for the storage of energy (e.g. starch and glycogen) and as
structural components (e.g. cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods).
The 5-carbon monosaccharide ribose is an important component
of coenzymes (e.g. ATP, FAD and NAD) and the backbone of the genetic molecule
known as RNA.
The related deoxyribose is a component of DNA.
Saccharides and their derivatives include many other
important biomolecules that play key roles in the immune system, fertilization,
preventing pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.
Sources of
Carbohydrates
• Cereals
• Wheat
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Sugarcane
• Fruits
• Bread
• Milk
Classification of Carbohydrates
• There are three major size classes of carbohydrates:
1. Monosaccharides
2. Oligosaccharides
3. Polysaccharide
1. Monosaccharides
• The simplest of the

carbohydrates, the
monosaccharides, are either
aldehydes or ketones with two
or more hydroxyl groups.
• Monosaccharides are colorless,
crystalline solids that are freely
soluble in water but insoluble
in nonpolar solvents. Most
have a sweet taste.
• Examples of monosaccharides
include glucose (dextrose), fruc
tose and galactose.
1. Monosaccharides (continue.)
• The backbones of common monosaccharides are unbranched carbon
chains in which all the carbon atoms are linked by single bonds. In the
open-chain form, one of the carbon atoms is double-bonded to an
oxygen atom to form a carbonyl group; each of the other carbon
atoms has a hydroxyl group.
• If the carbonyl group is at an end of the carbon chain (that is, in an
aldehyde goup) the monosaccharide is an aldose.
• If the carbonyl group is at any other position (in a ketone group) the
monosaccharide is a ketose.
• The simplest monosaccharides are the two three-carbon trioses:
glyceraldehyde, an aldotriose, and dihydrorryacetone, a ketotriose.
Disaccharides
• Disaccharides (such as maltose,
lactose, and sucrose) consist of two
monosaccharides joined covalently
by an O-glycosidic bond, which is
formed when a hydroxyl group of
one sugar reacts with the anomeric
carbon of the other.
• Disaccharides can be hydrolyzed to
yield their free monosaccharide
components by boiling with dilute
acid. N-glycosyl bonds join the
anomeric carbon of a sugar to a
nitrogen atom in glycoproteins and
nucleotides.
2. Oligosaccharides
• Oligosaccharide, any carbohydrate of
from three to six units of simple sugars
(monosaccharides).
• A large number of oligosaccharides have
been prepared by partially breaking
down more complex carbohydrates
(polysaccharides).
• Oligosaccharides can have many
functions including cell recognition and
cell binding.
• Most of the few naturally occurring
oligosaccharides are found in
plants. Raffinose, a trisaccharide found in
many plants, consists of melibiose
(galactose and glucose) and fructose.
3. Polysaccharides
• Most carbohydrates found in nature

occur as polysaccharides, polymers of
medium to high molecular weight.
• Polysaccharides, also called glycans,
differ from each other in the identity
of their recurring monosaccharide
units, in the length of their chains, in
the types of bonds Iinking the units,
and in the degree of branching.
• Further classified into
homopolysaccharides and
heteropolysaccharides.
Homopolysaccharides
• Homopolysaccharides contain only a single

monomeric species.
• Some homopolysaccharides serve as storage
forms of monosaccharides that are used as
fuels; starch and glycogen are
homopolysaccharides of this type.
• Other homopolysaccharides (cellulose and
chitin, for example) serve as structural
elements in plant.
Heteropolysaccharides
• Heteropolysaccharides contain two or more different kinds of
monomeric species.
• Heteropolysaccharides provide extracellular support for organisms of
all kingdoms. For example, the rigid layer of the bacterial cell
envelope (the peptidoglycan) is composed in part of a
heteropolysaccharides built from two alternating monosaccharide
units.
• In animal tissues, the extracellular space is occupied by several types
of heteropolysaccharides, which form a matrix that holds individual
cells together and provides protection, shape, and support to cells,
tissues, and organs.
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CARBOHYDRATES

• There are three major size classes of carbohydrates:

• The simplest of the

• Most carbohydrates found in nature

• Homopolysaccharides contain only a single

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