The Four Groups of Carbohydrates

Vocabulary flashcards based on the lecture notes about carbohydrates, covering their structural classes, specific types, and biological functions.

Biological Molecules

The four types of molecules—carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), and proteins—that interact to perform the functions necessary to form, reproduce, and sustain life.

Carbohydrates

Organic molecules defined by a 1:2:1 ratio of carbon (C) to hydrogen (H) to oxygen (O) atoms, represented by $(CH_2O)_n$.

Hydroxyl (OH) Groups

Chemical groups on carbohydrates that make them soluble in water, including aqueous body fluids and cell cytosol.

Monosaccharides

Basic carbohydrates, also called simple sugars, consisting of 'one sugar' that serve as molecular building blocks (substrates) and can be transported across cell membranes and circulatory systems.

Disaccharides

Simple sugars consisting of two monosaccharides bonded together, such as lactose, maltose, and sucrose, that serve as substrates and transport molecules.

Sweet Sensory Cells

Taste sensory cells that recognize monosaccharides and disaccharides to evaluate food for caloric content and safety.

Oligosaccharides

Carbohydrates consisting of 3 to 30 monosaccharides bonded together that act as 'name tags' on cell surfaces and feed mutualistic intestinal microbes.

Polymers

Large molecules synthesized by linking repeating units called monomers together, including nucleic acids, polysaccharides, and proteins.

Polysaccharides

Carbohydrates consisting of more than 30 monosaccharides bonded together.

Glycogen

An animal storage polysaccharide, known as an 'energy battery', that stores excess food energy in liver and muscle cells.

Starch

A plant storage polysaccharide that stores excess energy within plant cells.

Chitin

Nature's second most abundant polysaccharide, forming hard structures in animals (such as octopus beaks and lobster exoskeletons) and cell walls of fungi.

Hyaluronic Acid

A polysaccharide that provides flexibility, lubrication, and physical support to animal tissues and joints.

Cellulose

The world's most abundant organic molecule and structural polysaccharide that forms plant cell walls.

Cellulase

An enzyme produced by mutualistic microbes that enables herbivores to digest cellulose.