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7: Carbohydrates - An Introduction
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7.1: Introduction to Carbohydrates
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Carbohydrates are an important group of biological molecules that includes sugars and starches. Monosaccharide are building blocks of carbohydrates.
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7.2: Important Pentoses and Hexoses
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Two pentoses in living organisms are ribose and 2-deoxyribose. Three abundant hexoses in living organisms are glucose and galactose and fructose.
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7.3: Cyclic Structures of Monosaccharides
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Monosaccharides that are pentoses or hexoses form cyclic structures in aqueous solution. Two cyclic isomers can form from each straight-chain monosaccharide; these are known as anomers.
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7.4: Disaccharides
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Disaccharides are made of two monosaccharides. The common disaccharides are maltose, lactose, sucrose, and cellobiose.
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7.5: Polysaccharides of Glucose
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Starch is a storage form of energy in plants. Glycogen is a storage form of energy in animals. Cellulose is a structural polymer of glucose units found in plants.
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7.6: Digestion of Carbohydrates
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During digestion, carbohydrates in our diet are broken down into monosaccharides via a hydrolysis reaction. Digestion of starch starts in the mouth, however most of the digestion occur in the small intestine.
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7.7: Glycolysis
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Glycolysis is the catabolism of glucose through a series of enzyme-catalyzed reactions producing two molecules of pyruvate, two molecules of ATP, and two molecules of NADH.
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7.8: Fate of Pyruvate
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In the absence of oxygen, pyruvate is converted to lactate or alcohol. In the presence of oxygen, pyruvate is converted to acetyl-CoA which enters the citric acid cycle.
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7.9: Gluconeogenesis
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Gluconeogenesis is an anabolic pathway that synthesizes glucose from non-carbohydrate sources such as lactate, amino acids, oxaloacetate, glycerol and pyruvate. This pathway is generally only active during periods of intense exercise or starvation.
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7.10: Ketone Bodies
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Acetyl-CoA is required to start the citric acid cycle. However if it is not used by the citric acid cycle it can be converted to ketone bodies.
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7.11: End of Chapter Problems
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This problem set is based on Chapter 7 topics.