Introduction to Carbohydrates

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to carbohydrates as discussed in the lecture.

Carbohydrates

A major source of energy in our diet, made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, also called saccharides.

Monosaccharide

The simplest form of carbohydrates, consisting of a single sugar molecule.

Disaccharide

A carbohydrate made up of two monosaccharides linked together.

Polysaccharide

A carbohydrate that consists of many monosaccharides.

Aldose

A monosaccharide that contains an aldehyde group.

Ketose

A monosaccharide that contains a ketone group.

D-glucose

An aldohexose known as dextrose and found in fruits, corn syrup, and honey.

D-fructose

A ketohexose that is the sweetest of the carbohydrates, derived from sucrose.

Galactose

An aldohexose that is obtained from the disaccharide lactose.

Haworth structure

A cyclic structure of monosaccharides, formed from the reaction of a carbonyl group and a hydroxyl group.

Chiral molecule

A molecule that has non-superimposable mirror images, usually due to the presence of chiral centers.

Reducing sugar

A carbohydrate that can be oxidized, characterized by the presence of an aldehyde group or a free ketone group.

Benedict's Test

A qualitative test for reducing sugars where the aldehyde group is oxidized to a carboxylic acid.

Glycosidic bond

The type of bond formed between two monosaccharides during the formation of disaccharides.

D-mannose

A monosaccharide that can be reduced to D-mannitol, a sugar alcohol.

D and L notation

A system used to classify the stereochemistry of chiral molecules based on the position of the hydroxyl group.

Cellulose

A polysaccharide composed of glucose units connected by beta-1,4-glycosidic bonds, forming the structural component of plant cell walls.

Amylose

A straight-chain polysaccharide of glucose units, making up about 20% of starch.

Amylopectin

A branched-chain polysaccharide of glucose, comprising about 80% of starch.

Glycogen

A highly branched polymer of glucose stored in liver and muscle, used for energy.

Sucralose

An artificial sweetener made from sucrose by substituting some of the hydroxyl groups with chlorine atoms.

Aspartame

A non-carbohydrate artificial sweetener made from a methyl ester of the amino acid phenylalanine.