Carbohydrates (hydrates of carbon)

1. All carbohydrates are organic compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. (C:H:O is
about 1:2:1)
2. The general formula for carbohydrates is Cx (H2O) y (x and y are variable numbers, that may be
similar or different).

Physical
properties

Synthesis

Carbohydrates
Sugars (-ose)
Polysaccharides
Small molecules
Macromolecules
Sweet
Not sweet
Soluble in water
Slightly/insoluble in H2O
Crystalline
Amorphous
Monosaccharides
Disaccharides
Simple sugars
Made by joining 2 Made by joining many monomono-saccharides saccharides

Diagrammatic
representation
glycosidic bond
General formula
Chemical
properties
General function

(CH2O)n , where
C12H22O11
3<n<7
All are reducing sugars Reducing & nonreducing sugars
Respiratory substrate
Storage
(energy source)
compound, form
of sugar to be
transported
(sucrose)

Cx (H2O)y
Non-reducing.
- storage compounds e.g.
glycogen, starch
- structural elements e.g.
cellulose

Monosaccharides (General formula: C(H2O)n , where n = no. of carbon atoms,

1.
a.
b.

3 n 7)

May be classified according to

The no. of carbon atoms. They are called trioses (3C), tetroses (4C), pentoses (5C),
hexoses (6C) and heptoses (7C). Trioses, pentoses and hexoses are the most common.
Their functional groups, which may be
Aldehyde group

Keto group

Note the presence of the carbonyl group ( C = O ) in each of the above. The carbonyl group
has reducing properties.
2.

Monosaccharides may be aldoses (aldehyde sugars) or ketoses (ketone sugars).

3.

Another important characteristic of monosaccharides is isomerism. Isomerism occurs when

compounds have the same molecular formula but different structures and hence different
physical properties.

Carbonyl
group in
aldehyde

Carbonyl
group in
ketone

Fig 2.1 Classification of some monosaccharides into aldoses and ketoses depending on the location
of the carbonyl group (in pink).
Quick check: Which of the above are isomers?
4.

Sugars are important energy-storage molecules in organisms, especially the hexoses. The
carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds release energy when they are broken.

5.

In aqueous solutions, most sugars form rings. In the case of glucose, carbon atom number 1 may
bond with the oxygen atom on carbon 5 to form a six-sided ring known as a pyranose ring (Fig
2.5a). In the case of fructose, carbon atom number 2 links with the oxygen atom on carbon atom
5 to form a five-sided ring known as a furanose ring (Fig 2.5b).
Fig 2.5a

Fig 2.5b

6. In the glucose ring (pyranose) structure, carbon atom number 1 becomes asymmetric and gives
rise to two isomers, the -form and the -form. These two forms are important in the formation
of starch and cellulose (Fig 2.6).

D-glucose

Fig 2.7a Formation of pyranose glucose molecules.

Fig 2.7b Formation of furanose fructose molecules.

7.

All monosaccharides are reducing sugars.They are also sweet, soluble and crystalline.

Disaccharides (C12H22O11)
1. Disaccharides are formed when two monosaccharides, usually hexoses, are joined by a
glycosidic bond in a condensation reaction with the loss of a single water molecule.
2 (C6H12O6 ) C12H22O11 + H2O
2. The bond is normally formed between carbon atoms 1 and 4 of neighbouring units, resulting in a
1- 4 glycosidic bond.
3. The most common disaccharides are maltose, sucrose and lactose (Fig 2.7):
maltose (malt sugar) = glucose + glucose
sucrose (cane sugar) = glucose + fructose
lactose (milk sugar) = glucose + galactose
4. All disaccharides are sweet, soluble and crystalline. They can be hydrolysed into simple sugars
with acid or enzymatic hydrolysis (with the addition of water).
5. Maltose and lactose are reducing sugars, whereas sucrose is a non-reducing sugar because it has
no free carbonyl group. Two common tests for reducing sugars are Benedicts test and Fehlings
test. A brick-red precipitate is formed when the available carbonyl group reduces copper (II) in
CuSO4 to copper (I) in Cu2O.
2 Cu(OH)2 + RCHO Cu2O +
copper (II) reducing
copper(I)
hydroxide
sugar
oxide

R.COOH + 2H2O
sugar
water
acid

Polysaccharides ( C x [H2O] y )
1. Polysaccharides are polymers of monosaccharides - formed when a few hundred to a few
thousand monosaccharides are joined by glycosidic bonds in condensation reactions (Fig 2.8).

Fig 2.8 Formation of disaccharides and polysaccharides by condensation, and their breakdown to
monosaccharides by hydrolysis.
2. They function mainly as food & energy storage compounds (starch and glycogen) and structural
materials (cellulose).
3.

They are suitable as storage compounds because they

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

are large molecules, therefore are quite insoluble & have no osmotic or chemical
influence in the cell
have compact molecules & do not take up much space
are easily hydrolysed into sugars when required.

4. Plants store starch mainly in tubers and grains. Starch is a mixture of two substances - amylose
and amylopectin.
a.

Amylose
i. a simpler, straight chain polymer of several thousand -glucose units
ii. joined by 1-4 linkages
iii. chain coils helically because of the angle of the 1-4 glycosidic linkage.
iv. has a compact shape for storage.

b.

Amylopectin
i. a more complex form, with many branches
ii. 1-6 glycosidic linkages at the branch points
iii. has up to twice as many -glucose units as amylose (see Fig 2.9 a, b & c below).
iv. has a compact shape for storage

Fig 2.9(a) Part of an amylose molecule showing many alpha glucose units linked by 1-4 glycosidic
bonds

Fig 2.9(b) Part of an

amylopectin molecule
showing 1-4 glycosidic bonds
in straight chains and a 1-6
glycosidic bond at a branch
point in the chain.

Fig 2.9(c) Two forms of starch are amylose (unbranched) and amylopectin (branched) found as
granules within a chloroplast of a plant cell.

5. Some differences between amylose & amylopectin

Amylose
Stains deep blue with iodine
Relative molecular mass up to 50 000
Up to 300 glucose units per molecule
Unbranched helical chain

Amylopectin
Stains red to purple with iodine
Relative molecular mass up to 500 000
1300 1500 glucose units per molecule
Branched helical chain

6. Animals store glycogen mainly in liver and muscle cells. Glycogen is similar to amylopectin in
structure but shows more branching and forms tiny granules inside cells (Fig 2.10).
Fig 2.10 Glycogen is a storage polysaccharide in animals which is more extensively branched
than amylopectin. It is stored as dense clusters of granules within liver and muscle cells

3. Cellulose is a major structural component of all plant cell walls (20% - 40%). It consists of
long chains of -glucose units (about 10,000 units per chain) which run parallel to each other.
Hydroxyl groups (-OH) project outwards from each chain in all directions to form hydrogen
bonds with neighbouring chains, thus establishing a rigid cross-linking between chains. The
chains associate in groups to form microfibrils, which are arranged in larger bundles to form
macrofibrils. Thus, the cell wall has great tensile strength and yet is fully permeable to water
and solutes (fig 2.11).

Fig 2.11 Structure of a cellulose molecule formed from beta glucose units linked by 1-4
glycosidic linkages. The adjacent straight chains are linked by hydrogen bonds making it a
strong building material in plant cell walls.

Fig.2.12

Electron micrograph of cell wall showing cellulose

microfibrils about 20 nm in diameter.

Other compounds closely related to polysaccharides:

Chitin (kitin)
- similar to cellulose, but has acetyl-amino groups replacing some hydroxyl (OH) groups.
- a major component in insect & crustacean exoskeleton
- also found in fungal cell walls.
Inulin
- a fructose polymer
- found as a storage carbohydrate in the root tubers of some plants
Pectin
- compound of galactose & galacturonic acid
- helps to stick plant cell walls together.
Glycoproteins
- compounds of carbohydrates and proteins
- found in blood plasma and saliva
Glycolipids
- compounds of carbohydrates and lipids.
- found on surfaces of plasma membranes

Exercise 1

1a) The diagram above shows part of a polymer. Name the polymer shown in diagram A
and B.
b) (i) Name a place where polymer A can be found.
(ii)What is the role of polymer A? Give 2 reasons to support this role.
c) (i) Name the bond found between the 2 units of polymer B.
(ii) What is the role of polymer B and name a place where it can be found.
d) Give two structural differences between A and B.