Organic Compounds: Carbohydrates Overview

Organic Compounds

• Carbohydrates are the most common organic compound found on Earth.
• Carbohydrates are essential for life as they provide energy.
• The basic building block of carbohydrates is a monosaccharide.

Monosaccharides

• Monosaccharides are simple sugars.
• They have the general formula (CH2O)n, where n is at least 3.
• Examples of monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, and galactose.

Disaccharides

• Disaccharides are formed when two monosaccharides are linked together by a glycosidic bond.
• Lactose is a disaccharide made up of glucose and galactose.
• Sucrose is a disaccharide made up of glucose and fructose.
• Maltose is a disaccharide made up of two glucose molecules.

Polysaccharides

• Polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharides linked together by glycosidic bonds.
• Starch is a polysaccharide made up of glucose molecules.
• Amylose is a type of starch that is unbranched.
• Amylopectin is a type of starch that is branched.

Heteropolysaccharides

• Heteropolysaccharides consist of different sugar units, often containing amino sugars.
• Heparin is a heteropolysaccharide that has a variety of functions including preventing blood clotting, wound healing, and stimulating lipase activity.
• Heparin is found in mast cells.

Amino Acids

• Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
• Amino acids are organic compounds that contain an amino group ( - NH2 ) and a carboxyl group ( - COOH).
• Examples of amino acids include glycine, alanine, serine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, cysteine, methionine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, asparagine, glutamine, arginine, histidine, lysine.

Hyaluronidase Enzyme

• Hyaluronidase is an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid.
• Hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide found in connective tissue.
• Hyaluronidase is important for sperm penetration of the egg during fertilization.
• Hyaluronidase is also produced by some bacteria, which allows them to spread through tissues.