Biochemistry

• Carbohydrates are greater in structural complexity than organic compounds and are the most abundant class of bioorganic molecules, formed when water and Carbon is combined.
• Biochemistry is the study of the chemical substances found in living organisms and the chemical interactions of these substances with each other.
• A biochemical substance is a chemical substance found within a living organism, including bioinorganic and bioorganic substances.
• Cellulose forms the structural element in plants.
• Starch provides Energy reserve for plants.
• Biochemical substances provide energy in animals thru oxidation.
• Glycogen provides short term energy for animals, is a polysaccharide containing glucose units, and is referred to as “animal starch”, with storage sites in liver cells and muscle cells.
• Monosaccharides, Polysaccharides, Oligosaccharides, and Disaccharides are different types of carbohydrates.
• Triose contains 3 carbon atoms.
• Tetroses contain 4 carbon atoms.
• Pentoses contain 5 carbon atoms.
• Hexoses contain 6 carbon atoms.
• Heptulose contains 7 carbon atoms.
• Aldoses contain aldehyde group.
• Ketoses contain Ketone group.
• D-Glyceraldehyde and Dihydroxyacetone are the simplest of the monosaccharides.
• D-Glucose is the most abundant in nature and most important from a human nutritional standpoint, also called grape sugar, blood sugar, and dextrose.
• D-Galactose is a component of numerous important biochemical substances, including lactose, and is called brain sugar.
• D-Fructose is the most important ketohexose, known as levulose and fruit sugar, and is the sweetest sugar.
• D-Ribose is a component of complex molecules (RNA and ATP).
• Disaccharides are carbohydrates in which two monosaccharides are bonded together.
• Maltose, often called malt sugar, is produced when the polysaccharide starch breaks down and is made up of 2 glucose units.
• Lactose is made up of galactose and glucose units, known as the “milk sugar”.
• Sucrose, also known as common “table sugar”, is the most abundant of all disaccharides, contains glucose and fructose, and is used as a sweetener in foods and beverages.
• Polysaccharides are polymers that contain many monosaccharide units bonded to each other by glycosidic linkages, often called glycans.
• Storage Polysaccharides are polysaccharides that are storage forms for monosaccharides and are used as an energy source in cells.
• Structural Polysaccharides are polysaccharides that serve as a structural element in plant cell walls and animal exoskeleton.
• Cellulose is a structural component of plant cell walls, the most abundant naturally occurring polysaccharide, and serves as dietary fiber.
• Chitin functions to give rigidity to the exoskeleton of crabs, lobsters, shrimp, insects and other arthropods, and also in the cell wall of fungi.