At the end of the lesson, the learners shall be able to:

present simple molecular models of carbohydrates and lipids and relate the
structure to the roles that these molecules play in biological systems.
perform tests for the presence of starch and reducing sugars and lipids on
common food products.
Table 1: Abundant elements in the human body (Source:

http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/b/mbt102/bisci4online/chemistry/elementsorgnsm.jpg)

CARBOHYDRATES

- Carbohydrates are organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, and

oxygen. These compounds have a general formula of
- basic sources of cellular energy for cellular activities
- One gram of carbohydrates provides four (4) food calories or 16 kJ of energy.
In the human diet, carbohydrates mainly come from plants although they are
found in all organisms.

How are carbohydrates formed?

Carbohydrates are examples of macromolecules. These are chainlike molecules called

polymers (mere means part) made from repeating units like monomers. Polymers can be
formed from covalently-bonded monomers much like a single
structure can be made out of repeated building blocks linked to
each other.

These monomers, called monosaccharides, form covalent

bonds when one monomer loses a hydroxyl group and the
other loses a hydrogen atom in dehydration or condensation
reactions, forming disaccharides. This reaction requires energy to occur.
The bond formed is called a glycosidic linkage.

Longer polysaccharide chains are formed by monomer addition through succeeding

dehydration reactions. These reactions can occur in the human liver as carbohydrates are
 stored as polysaccharides called glycogen or in ground tissues of plants where these are
stored as starch.

Polysaccharides are broken down into simpler components through the use of water to
break covalent bonds and release energy. The process, known as hydrolysis (hydro
means water and lysis means split), is the opposite of dehydration reactions and often
occurs in the digestive tract during chemical and mechanical digestion. Here, enzymes
break bonds within polysaccharides. With the aid of water, one H group attaches to a
monosaccharide while another OH group attaches to the other.

How are carbohydrates classified?

Carbohydrates can be classified into three main categories, according to increasing
complexity:
MONOSACCHARIDES (monos means single and sacchar means sugar)
DISACCHARIDES (di means two)
POLYSACCHARIDES (poly means many)

Classificati Functions Structure Examples

on
Monosacchar major cellular contains a
Ribosea 5C aldose that forms part
ide nutrient carbonyl group of the backbone of nucleic acids
often (C=O) and may Glucosea 6C aldose that is the
incorporated into be classified as product of photosynthesis and the
more complex an aldose or substrate for respiration that provides
carbohydrates ketose energy for cellular activities
depending on Fructosea 6C ketose that is found
the position in many plants and is often bonded to
glucose.
Disaccharide energy source forms when a Maltose (glucose + glucose)malt
sweetener and glycosidic sugar often found in sprouting
dietary linkage forms grains, malt-based energy drinks, or
component between two beer
mono- Lactose (glucose + galactose)
saccharides milk sugar that is a source of
energy for infants; an enzyme
called lactase is required to digest
this. Many adult Filipinos have low
levels of this enzyme leading to a
condition called lactose intolerance.
Sucrose (glucose + fructose)
found in table sugar processed from
sugar cane, sweet fruits, and
storage roots like carrots.
Polysacchari storage forms when Storage polysaccharides are large
de material for hundreds to molecules retained in the cell and are
important thousands of insoluble in water (formed from 1,4
monosaccharides mono- linkage monomers; with a helical
structural saccharides are structure)
material for the joined by Starchamylase is unbranched
cell or the entire glycosidic starch forming a helical structure
organism linkages while amylopectin is branched
starch, these are present in plant
parts like potato tubers, corn, and
rice and serve as major sources of
energy.
Glycogenfound in animals and
fungi; often found in liver cells and
muscle cells
Structural polysaccharides (formed
from 1,4 linkage of monomers;
strands associate to form a sheet-like
structure)
Cellulosetough sheet-like
structures that make up plant and
algal cell walls that may be
processed to form paper and paper-
 based products; humans lack the
enzymes to digest 1,4 linkages so
is passed out of the digestive tract
and aids in regular bowel movement
Chitinused for structural support in
the walls of fungi and in external
skeletons of arthropods
Peptidoglycan also known as
murein, is a polymer consisting of
sugars and amino acids that forms
a mesh-like layer outside the
plasma membrane of most bacteria,
forming the cell wall

MONOSACCHARIDE

FRUCTOSE
GLUCOSE
RIBOSE
(C5H10O5) (C6H12O6)

DISACCHARIDE

MALTOSE LACTOSE
SUCROSE
(C12H22O11) (C12H22O11)
(C12H22O11)

POLYSACCHARIDE

CHITIN
PEPTIDOGLYCAN (C8H13O5N) n

(C 6H 10 O 5)n (the number of glucose

molecules present)

GLYCOGEN
(C24H42O21)
CELLULOSE
(C6H10O5) n