Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Biology 1.3 Food and health.
- Mono-saccharides
- General Formula: (CH2O)n
- Classified according
to the number of
carbon atoms
- 3- Triose
- 5- Pentose
- 6 - Hexose
- Sweet
- Di-saccharides
- General Formula (C6H1O5)n
- 2 mono-saccharides
- Sweet
- Examples: Sucrose, Lactose and Maltose
- Joined by a condensation reaction resulting in glycosidic bonds(covalent)
- Condensation reaction: two
mono-saccharides join together and
water molecule is removed
- Hydrolisis is the opposite reaction to the
condensation reaction which formed the molecule,
so water is added to the di-saccharide to split them
apart into two mono-saccharides.
- Poly-saccharides
- Long chains of
mono-saccharides
- repeated condensation
reactions.
- normally 1000's
of monomers
- Complex carbohydrates
- Not sweet
- Poly-saccharides are polymers
formed by glycosidic bonding of
mono-saccharide subunits.
- Important poly-saccharides
- Starch
- Mixture of 2 poly-saccharides -
amylose and amylopectin
- Forms solid grains inside plant cells
(often inside chloroplasts)
- The branches in amylopectin are
formed by other 1-4 linked chains
joing the main poly-saccharide by
1-6 linkages.
- Used as an energy store in
plants
- Not soluble
- Amylopectin is
branched, amylose
is not.
- 1-4 linked (linked between carbon
atoms 1 and 4 successive glucose
units) glucose molecule make up the
chains of both poly-saccharides
- The chains coil up into a basic
spiral shape making the
molecules compact
- Hydrogen bonds hold the
poly-saccharide chain in
the compact shape.
- Made of alpha glucose
molecules linked by
glycosidic bonds.
- Cellulose
- Constitutes on average
20-40% of the plant cell wall.
- Made of beta glucose units.
- Most abundant organic
molecule - found in plant cell
walls. It is very slow to
decompose.
- Enzyme cellulase can break
down cellulose, but it is
relatively rare in nature.
- The chains straight, not coiled.
- Hydrogen bonding between
mono-saccharide molecules in
the chain gives strength
- Hydrogen bonding between
cellulose molecules cause
bundles called microfibrils to
develop. These are held
together in fibres
- A cell wall will have several
layers of fibres running in
different directions - gives great
strength almost equal to steel.
- Provides support in plants and
stops plant cells bursting.
- Freely permeable to water and
solutes
- Ruminants
have bacteria in
the gut that are
capable of
breaking down
cellulose
- Glycogen
- This is the storage poly-saccharide in
animals (equivalent to starch in plants)
- Found in the liver and
muscle cells where a energy
store is needed.
- Mainly fungi also store glycogen
- Forms tiny granules inside
cells which are usually
associated with smooth
endoplasmic reticulum.
- Each glycogen molecule contains a
few 1000 glucose units.
- Similar in structure to amylopectin- but more
branched i.e made of 1-4 linked alpha glucose
chains with 1-6 linked side branches.
- Chitin
- Beta glucose 1-4 polymer.
- Subunits: derivatives of
beta-glucose called
N-acetylglucosamine.
- Abundant structural molecule in arthropod
exoskeletons and fungal cell walls.