polysaccharides

• Monosaccharides:

  • Means "one sweet"
  • Examples: glucose, fructose
  • Provide quick energy as they do not need to be digested before being absorbed into the body
  • Glucose, fructose, and galactose share the same molecular formula (C6H12O6) but have different structural formulas showing how their atoms are arranged
  • Glucose is found in corn syrup
  • Fructose is found in fruit and honey
  • Galactose is found in milk and yogurt
• Disaccharides:

  • Means "two sweets"
  • Examples: sucrose, maltose
  • Need to be digested
  • Sucrose = glucose + fructose, from cane sugar
  • Lactose = glucose + galactose, from milk
  • Maltose = glucose + glucose, from starch digestion
• Polysaccharides:

  • Means "many sweets" (more than 2)
  • Examples: starch, glycogen, cellulose
  • Also called complex carbohydrates
  • Need to be digested except for cellulose, providing fiber or roughage in our diet
• Polysaccharides:

  • Starch:
  • Energy storage molecule in plants
  • Found in potatoes, grains, root vegetables
  • Glycogen:
  • Short-term energy storage in humans
  • Stored in the liver and muscle cells
  • Typically consists of 50,000 glucose units
  • Cellulose:
  • Stiffens plant cells (e.g., cell walls)
  • Cannot be digested, providing roughage or fiber