Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Carbohydrate metabolism is the series of biochemical processes responsible for the formation, breakdown and interconversion of carbohydrates in living organisms. The most important carbohydrate is glucose, a simple sugar (monosaccharide) that is metabolized by nearly all known organisms.
That's the definition of a carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrates are those that are digested and absorbed quickly, best represented by sugars themselves. Complex carbohydrates include starches. While ...
Simple monosaccharides have a linear and unbranched carbon skeleton with one carbonyl (C=O) functional group, and one hydroxyl (OH) group on each of the remaining carbon atoms. Therefore, the molecular structure of a simple monosaccharide can be written as H(CHOH) n (C=O)(CHOH) m H, where n + 1 + m = x; so that its elemental formula is C x H 2x ...
Humans can consume a variety of carbohydrates, digestion breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple monomers (monosaccharides): glucose, fructose, mannose and galactose. After resorption in the gut , the monosaccharides are transported, through the portal vein , to the liver, where all non-glucose monosacharids (fructose, galactose) are ...
Some bacteria and protists can metabolize these carbohydrate types. Ruminants and termites, for example, use microorganisms to process cellulose. [7] Even though these complex polysaccharides are not very digestible, they provide important dietary elements for humans. Called dietary fiber, these carbohydrates
An alternative definition is the entirety of carbohydrates in a cell. The glycome may in fact be one of the most complex entities in nature . " Glycomics , analogous to genomics and proteomics , is the systematic study of all glycan structures of a given cell type or organism" and is a subset of glycobiology .
Polysaccharides, which include starch and glycogen, are often referred to as 'complex' carbohydrates because they are typically long multiple-branched chains of sugar units. Traditionally, simple carbohydrates were believed to be absorbed quickly, and therefore raise blood-glucose levels more rapidly than complex carbohydrates. This is inaccurate.
Lectins, or proteins that bind carbohydrates, can recognize specific oligosaccharides and provide useful information for cell recognition based on oligosaccharide binding. [ citation needed ] An important example of oligosaccharide cell recognition is the role of glycolipids in determining blood types .