Carbohydrates

• Formula of any carbohydrate is Cn(H2O)n
• This is a structure of alpha-glucose

  
• This is a structure of beta-glucose

  
• Glycogen is made of alpha-1,4 linkages between glucose molecules but branches at alpha-1,6 linkage
• Starch has the same structure as glycogen but is present in plants only: has two forms: amylose and amylopectin
• Cellulose is made of beta-1,4 linkages between glucose molecules
• This is a structure of unbranched glycogen

  
• This is a structure of cellulose

  
• Humans cannot digest cellulose because of beta-1,4 linkage
• Maltose = glucose + glucose
• Sucrose = glucose + fructose
• Lactose = glucose + galactose
• All sugars usually end with the ending "ose"
• Anomers are stereoisomers of cyclic saccharides that differ in their configuration at the anomeric carbon (which is a chiral carbon having 4 different groups attached to it)
• Enantiomers have the same chiral carbon but they are like mirror images of each other and are non-superimposable, which accounts for thier different properties
• "cisto" means same side
• "trans" means different side