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Science for Medicine > Carbohydrates 1 > Flashcards

Carbohydrates 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the properties of carbohydrates?

A
  • Highly oxidizable
  • Function to store potential energy
  • Have structural and protective functions
  • Contribute to cell-cell communication
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2
Q

In what form are carbohydrates stored?

A
  • Starch in plants

- Glycogen in animals

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3
Q

Where do carbohydrates exhibit structural and protective functions?

A
  • In plant cell walls

- Extra cellular matrices of animal cells

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4
Q

How are carbohydrates highly oxidizable?

A

-Sugar and starch molecules have high energy H atom- associated electrons

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5
Q

What is another name for a monosaccharide?

A

Hexose

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6
Q

What are the 3 important hexoses?

A
  • Glucose (Glc)
  • Galactose (Gal)
  • Fructose (Fru)
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7
Q

How are disaccharides formed/

A
  • From monomers that are linked by glycosidic bonds

- Covalent bonds formed when hydroxyl group one monosaccharide reacts with anomeric carbon of another

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8
Q

What is an anomeric carbon/

A
  • Different anomers are mirror images of each other
  • It is carbon #1 on the glucose residue
  • It stabilises the structure of glucose
  • It is the only residue that can be oxidised
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9
Q

What are the 3 important disaccharides?

A
  • Maltose
  • Lactose
  • Sucrose
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10
Q

What is maltose?

A
  • Break down product of starch

- Found in beer and baby foods

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11
Q

Why is maltose a reducing sugar?

A

Anomeric C-1 is available for oxidation

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12
Q

What is lactose?

A

-Main sugar in milk

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13
Q

How is lactose formed?

A

From a glycosidic bond between galactose and glucose

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14
Q

Why is lactose a reducing sugar?

A

Anomeric carbon the glucose is available fro oxidation

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15
Q

What is sucrose?

A
  • Common sugar
  • Only made y plants
  • Sweetener in most processed foods
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16
Q

Why is sucrose not a reducing sugar?

A

It does not have a free anomeric C-1 so ther is no oxidation site

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17
Q

What are polysaccharides?

A

Polymers of medium to high molecular weight

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18
Q

How are polysaccharides distinguished from each other?

A
  • Identity of their recurring monosaccharide units
  • Length of their chain
  • Types of bond linking monosaccharide units
  • Amount of branching they exhibit
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19
Q

Homopolysaccharide

A

Single monomeric specie

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20
Q

Heteropolysaccharide

A

Have 2 or more monomer species

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21
Q

What 2 kind of glucose does starch contain?

Study These Flashcards
A
  • Amylose

- Amylopectin

22
Q

Describe amylose.

Study These Flashcards
A
  • Can have thousands of glucose residues

- D-glucose residues in (a1-4) linkage

23
Q

Describe amylopectin.

Study These Flashcards
A
  • Similar structure as amylose but branched.

- Glycosidic (a1-4) bonds join glucose in the chains but branches are (a1-6) and occur every 24-30 residues

24
Q

Describe the structure of starch.

Study These Flashcards
A

Has many non-reducing ends and very few reducing ends

25
How are amylose and amylopectin arranged in starch?
They are believed to form alpha helices
26
Describe the structure of glycogen.
- Polymer of glucose (a1-4) linked to sub units with (a1-6) branches every 8-12 residues - This makes glycogen more extensively branched than starch
27
Where is glycogen found in the body?
90% is in: - Liver (acts to replenish blood glucose when fasting) - Skeletal muscle (catabolism produces ATP for contraction)
28
Why is glucose stored in polymers?
- Compactness - Amylopectin and glycogen have many non-reducing ends - The polymers form hydrated gels and are not really in solution
29
What does the many non-reducing ends of amylopectin and glycogen allow?
-Allows them to be synthesised and degraded to and from monomers respectively thus speeds up formation or degradation
30
What is meant by 'The polymers form hydrated gels and are not really in solution'?
-They are osmotically inactive -If free glucose were in the cells then [Glc]inside >> [Glc]outside Either Glc would move out of the cell down the concentration gradient or the cell would use huge amounts of energy keeping it in the cell
31
What are glycoproteins?
Proteins that have carbohydrate covalently attached
32
Glycoproteins: What may the carbohydrates attached to the protein do?
- Increases the protein solubility - Influence protein folding and conformation - Protect it from degradation - Act as a communication between cells
33
What is the carbohydrate content of glycoproteins
1-80% by mass
34
What is another name for glycosaminoglycans?
Mucopolysaccharides
35
Where do GAGs function?
In mucus and also synovial fluid
36
What are GAGs/
Un-branched polymers made from repeating units of hexuronic acid and an amino-sugar which alternate through the chains
37
What are proteoglycans?
- Macromolecules found on the surface of cells or in between cells in the ECM - Carbohydrate >> Proteins
38
How are proteoglycans formed?
From GAGs covalently attaching to proteins
39
What do proteoglycans for part of?
Many connective tissues
40
What are glycoproteins?
-Very similar to glycoproteins but protein>> carbohydrate
41
Where are glycoproteins usually found?
-On the outer plasma membrane and ECM but also in the blood and within cells in the secretory system
42
What are exampled of glycoproteins?
Some cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins
43
What are mucopolysaccharidoses?
Group of genetic disorders caused by the absence or malfunction of enzymes that are required for the breakdown of GAGs
44
How does mucopolysaccharidoses occur?
- Over time GAGS build up in connective tissue, blood and other somatic cells - The build up damages cellular architecture and function
45
What can mucopolysaccharidoses cause?
?-Severe dementia - Heart problems - Build up of GAGs between endothelial cells causing damage - Stunted bones - Inflammed joints
46
What are examples of mucopolysaccharidoses
- Hurler Syndrome - Scheie Syndrome - Hunter Syndrome - Sanfilippo Syndrome
47
What are the characteristics of Hurler Syndrome?
- Severe developmental delays - Clouding and degradation of the cornea - Areterial wall thickening - Dementia
48
What is the dementia in Hurler syndrome caused by?
- Build up of CSF | - Enlarged vermicular spaces
49
What are the sever developmental delays seen in Hurler syndrome?
- Stop developing at around 4yo | - Death at around 10yo
50
What experimental therapies currently exist for Hurler syndrome?
- Gene therapy | - Enzyme replacement therapies

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