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They are usually colorless, water-soluble, and crystalline organic solids. Contrary to their name (sugars), only some monosaccharides have a sweet taste. Most monosaccharides have the formula (CH 2 O) x (though not all molecules with this formula are monosaccharides). Examples of monosaccharides include glucose (dextrose), fructose (levulose ...
The enzymes that join glucose to other molecules usually use phosphorylated glucose to power the formation of the new bond by coupling it with the breaking of the glucose-phosphate bond. Other than its direct use as a monomer, glucose can be broken down to synthesize a wide variety of other biomolecules.
Fructose, galactose, and glucose are all simple sugars, monosaccharides, with the general formula C 6 H 12 O 6. They have five hydroxyl groups (−OH) and a carbonyl group (C=O) and are cyclic when dissolved in water. They each exist as several isomers with dextro- and laevo-rotatory forms that cause polarized light to diverge to the right or ...
Amylose consists of a linear chain of several hundred glucose molecules, and Amylopectin is a branched molecule made of several thousand glucose units (every chain of 24–30 glucose units is one unit of Amylopectin). Starches are insoluble in water. They can be digested by breaking the alpha-linkages (glycosidic bonds). Both humans and other ...
The carbohydrate part of the molecule is called glycone, the -O- bridge is the glycosisdic oxygen, and the attached group is the aglycone. Glycosides are named by giving the aglyconic alcohol HOR, followed by the saccharide name with the '-e' ending replaced by '-ide'; as in [[phenol D -glucopyranoside]].
Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers. The most common macromolecules in biochemistry are biopolymers (nucleic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates) and large non-polymeric molecules such as lipids, nanogels and macrocycles. [1]
Glucose molecules are added to the chains of glycogen as long as both insulin and glucose remain plentiful. In this postprandial or "fed" state, the liver takes in more glucose from the blood than it releases. After a meal has been digested and glucose levels begin to fall, insulin secretion is reduced, and glycogen synthesis stops.
Homopolysaccharides are polysaccharides composed of a single type of sugar monomer. For example, cellulose is an unbranched homopolysaccharide made up of glucose monomers connected via beta-glycosidic linkages; glycogen is a branched form, where the glucose monomers are joined by alpha-glycosidic linkages. Depending upon the molecules attached ...