Task 8

Self Reflection: Carbohydrate

Hello Meowies, another week of movement control order (MCO)  where we still have online class. I really miss Dr. Hashimatul way of teaching which makes me interested to learn more about biochemistry. Today, I’m doing my own self-study regarding various types of carbohydrates which are monosaccharides , disaccharides , trisaccharide and polysaccharides and its function in our daily life. Basically, all life on Earth requires carbohydrates. Carbohydates is the most abundant biological molecules on Earth. They have found their way into the lives of not only animals and plants but also small organism such as  fungi, bacteria, archaea and protists.

First is monosaccharides which are simple sugars, the most common of which is glucose. In monosaccharides, the number of carbons usually ranges from three to seven. Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates and they cannot be hydrolyzed to smaller carbohydrates under mild conditions. Monosaccharides are classified according to the number of carbon. Commonly used is glucose, fructose, and galactose. Monosaccharides demonstrates stereochemistry and are chiral. Aldoses with 3C or more and ketones with 4C or more are chiral. 

In our daily life, glucose is an important source of energy. During cellular respiration, energy is released from glucose, and that energy is used to help make adenosine triphosphate (ATP).  Fructose also known as ‘fruit sugar’ which found in foods such as fruit, honey, some vegetables and soft drinks. If we have low blood sugar, it will cause hypoglycaemia which is a disease which there is low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia can be treated if dextrose 5% in water is injected into a vein through an IV to replace lost fluids and provide carbohydrates to the body. Dextrose 5% can also aid to treat insulin shock and dehydration (fluid loss).

Second is disaccharides which are formed when two monosaccharides join together by undergo a dehydration reaction. A covalent bond formed between a carbohydrate molecule and another molecule is known as glycosidic bond. Glycosidic bonds can be of alpha or the beta type. Common disaccharides include lactose, maltose and sucrose

Sucrose provides our body with the energy required to perform physical and mental functions. Our body breaks down foods such as sucrose and starch into fructose and glucose during digestion. The fructose and glucose are metabolized by our body to release energy to your cells.  The uses of sucrose are for sweetening in which its fructose component, that has almost double the sweetness of glucose, makes sucrose distinctively sweet in comparison to other carbohydrates. Lactose is a type of sugar, naturally found in milk and dairy products.Lactose-free milk has the same nutrient profile as regular cow’s milk, so we still get the same vitamins, minerals, calcium, and protein, without the discomfort. Maltose is a disaccharide that is made up of two glucose units and classified as reducing sugar. Maltose is found in starchy grains, vegetables and fruits. It is useful as a low-cost sugar source in the form of high-maltose corn syrup. Cellobiose is a disaccharide with the formula C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁. Cellobiose, a reducing sugar, consists of two β-glucose molecules linked by a β(1→4) bond. Cellobiose can be used as an indicator carbohydrate for Crohn’s disease and malabsorption syndrome.

Third is polysaccharides. A polysaccharide is a large molecule made of many smaller monosaccharides. Monosaccharides are simple sugars, like glucose.There are two types of polysaccharides which is homopolysaccharides and heteropolysaccharides. Three important polysaccharides, starch, glycogen, and cellulose, are composed of glucose.

The functions of polysaccharides are for storage, structure an information. Starch and glycogen serve as short-term energ y stores in plants and animals, respectively, being found in the form of both amylose and the branched amylopectin. Chitin is the main component of the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods such as crustaceans, crabs, lobsters and shrimps and insects. Cellulose is the principal food reserve in plants while hemicellulose function as supporting material in the cell wall.