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Chemistry LibreTexts

Carbohydrates

  • Page ID
    377
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    Carbohydrates, also known as sugars, are found in all living organisms. They are essential to the very source of life (ex. Ribose sugars in DNA and RNA) or sustaining life itself (ex. Metabolic conversion of carbohydrates into usable biochemical energy, ATP). Another important role of carbohydrates is structural (ex. Cellulose in plants).

    Thumbnail: Ball-and-stick model of the α-D-glucose molecule, \(C_6H_{12}O_6\). (Public Domain; Ben Mills).


    Carbohydrates is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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