TYPES OF CARBOHYDRATES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS IN DAILY LIFE ( TASK 8 )

Hello everyone , how are you all ? I’m doing great here. Oh yes , have you all heard about carbohydrates ? What is carbohydrates ? I’m here today to explain about carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates is one of the organic compound containing the elements carbon,hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion 1:2:1. Basically . carbohydrates come in simple forms such as sugars and in complex forms such as starches and fiber. The body breaks down most sugars and starches into glucose, a simple sugar that the body can use to feed its cells. Carbohydrates can be classified into 4 different groups which are monosaccharides , disaccharides , polysaccharides and oligosaccharides.

Monosaccharides are a group of sugars with simple molecular structures that cannot be broken down further into smaller units of carbohydrates. The general formula of monosaccharides is C_nH_2nO_n. Monosaccharides are colourless , water-soluble and have a sweet taste. Monosaccharides is one of the source of energy, intermediates in respiration and photosynthesis. Examples of monosaccharides are glucose , fructose and galactose ( milk sugar ).

Disaccharides is formed when  2 units of monosaccharides sugar combined through condensation process with a removal of a water molecule. For example , glucose and fructose forms sucrose.The two molecules of monosaccharides which are bound by a glycosidic bound in a disaccharides are called residues. Disaccharide function is to provide your body with a quick source of energy. Disaccharides sugar are present in table sugar , fruits , ice cream and milk. Examples of disaccharides sugar are sucrose ,lactose and maltose.

 Polysaccharides are polymers of monosaccharides with the empirical formula of (C₆H₁₀O₅)n_. The monomers involved are glucose units which are linked by glycosidic bond. Polysaccharides are amorphous and not sweet.They are large and do not dissolve in water but form colloids,so they do not influence the osmotic pressure of a cell.They fold into compact shapes and are easily converted to simple sugars by hydrolysis when required.These properties make polysaccharides ideal storage molecules in organism. Example of polysaccharides are starch , glycogen and cellulose.

    Oligosaccharides are short polysaccharides which found in plasma membrane. They were linked together mostly by O-glycosidic bond through condensation reaction between an anomeric carbon of a monosaccharide and the other. They can also form N-glycosidic linkages under certain atmosphere. Oligosaccharides can have many functions including cell recognition and cell binding. For example, glycolipids have an important role in the immune response. One of the oligosaccharide example is laetrile.