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Carbohydrate: General Features

Carbohydrate, class of naturally occurring compounds and derivatives formed from them. In the early part of the 19th century, substances such as wood, starch, and linen were found to be composed mainly of molecules containing atoms of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O), and to have the general formula C6H12O6; other organic molecules with similar formulas were found to have a similar ratio of hydrogen to oxygen. The general formula Cx(H2O)x is commonly used to represent many carbohydrates, which means “watered carbon.”

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20 views

Carbohydrate: General Features

Carbohydrate, class of naturally occurring compounds and derivatives formed from them. In the early part of the 19th century, substances such as wood, starch, and linen were found to be composed mainly of molecules containing atoms of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O), and to have the general formula C6H12O6; other organic molecules with similar formulas were found to have a similar ratio of hydrogen to oxygen. The general formula Cx(H2O)x is commonly used to represent many carbohydrates, which means “watered carbon.”

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kelas k agroteknologi
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Carbohydrate

Written by: Eugene A. Davidson


Carbohydrate, class of naturally occurring compounds and derivatives
formed from them. In the early part of the 19th century, substances such as wood,
starch, and linen were found to be composed mainly of molecules containing
atoms of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O), and to have the general
formula C6H12O6; other organic molecules with similar formulas were found to
have a similar ratio of hydrogen to oxygen. The general formula C x(H2O)x is
commonly used to represent many carbohydrates, which means watered carbon.
Carbohydrates are probably the most abundant and widespread organic
substances in nature, and they are essential constituents of all living things.
Carbohydrates are formed by green plants from carbon dioxide and water during
the process of photosynthesis. Carbohydrates serve organisms as energy sources
and as essential structural components; in addition, part of the structure of nucleic
acids, which contain genetic information, consists of carbohydrate.
General features
Although a number of classification schemes have been devised for
carbohydrates,

the

division

into

four

major

groupsmonosaccharides,

disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharidesused here is among the


most common. Most monosaccharides, or simple sugars, are found in grapes,
other fruits, and honey. Although they can contain from three to nine carbon
atoms, the most common representatives consist of five or six joined together to
form a chainlike molecule. Three of the most important simple sugarsglucose
(also known as dextrose, grapesugar, and corn sugar), fructose (fruit sugar),
and galactosehave the same molecular formula, (C6H12O6), but, because their
atoms have different structural arrangements, the sugars have different
characteristics; i.e., they are isomers. Slight changes in structural arrangements are
detectable by living things and influence the biological significance of isomeric
compounds. It is known, for example, that the degree of sweetness of various
sugars differs according to the arrangement of thehydroxyl groups (OH) that
compose part of the molecular structure. A direct correlation that may exist
between taste and any specific structural arrangement, however, has not yet been

established; that is, it is not yet possible to predict the taste of a sugar by knowing
its specific structural arrangement. The energy in the chemical bonds
of glucose indirectly supplies most living things with a major part of the energy
that is necessary for them to carry on their activities. Galactose, which is rarely
found as a simple sugar, is usually combined with other simple sugars in order to
form larger molecules.
Two molecules of a simple sugar that are linked to each other form
a disaccharide, or double sugar. The disaccharide sucrose, or table sugar, consists
of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose; the most familiar
sources of sucrose are sugar beets and cane sugar. Milk sugar, or lactose,
and maltose are also disaccharides. Before the energy in disaccharides can be
utilized by living things, the molecules must be broken down into their respective
monosaccharides.
Oligosaccharides, which consist of three to six monosaccharide units, are
rather infrequently found in natural sources, although a few plant derivatives have
been identified.
Polysaccharides (the term means many sugars) represent most of the structural
and energy-reserve carbohydrates found in nature. Large molecules that may
consist of as many as 10,000 monosaccharide units linked together,
polysaccharides vary considerably in size, in structural complexity, and in sugar
content; several hundred distinct types have thus far been identified. Cellulose, the
principal structural component of plants, is a complex polysaccharide comprising
many glucose units linked together; it is the most common polysaccharide. The
starch found in plants and the glycogen found in animals also are complex glucose
polysaccharides. Starch (from the Old English word stercan, meaning to stiffen)
is found mostly in seeds, roots, and stems, where it is stored as an available
energy source for plants. Plant starch may be processed into such foods as bread,
or it may be consumed directlyas in potatoes, for instance. Glycogen, which
consists of branching chains of glucose molecules, is formed in the liver and
muscles of higher animals and is stored as an energy source.
The generic nomenclature ending for the monosaccharides is -ose; thus,
the termpentose (pent = five) is used for monosaccharides containing five carbon

atoms, andhexose (hex = six) is used for those containing six. In addition, because
the monosaccharides contain a chemically reactive group that is either

an aldehydo

group

they

are

frequently referred to as aldopentoses or ketopentoses or aldohexoses or


ketohexoses; in the examples below, the aldehydo group is at position 1 of the
aldopentose, and the keto group is at position 2 of the ketohexose. Glucose is an
aldohexosei.e., it contains six carbon atoms, and the chemically reactive group
is an aldehydo group.

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