Carbohydrates Biochemistry Lecture Review

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to carbohydrates biochemistry, including definitions and distinctions essential for understanding the subject.

Carbohydrate

A carbohydrate is a polyhydroxy aldehyde, a polyhydroxy ketone, or a compound that yields polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones upon hydrolysis.

Chirality

The property of a molecule that has non-superimposable mirror images, often relating to handedness.

Monosaccharide

The simplest type of carbohydrate and the building block for more complex types of carbohydrates.

Dextrorotatory Compound

A chiral compound that rotates the plane of polarized light in a clockwise direction.

Levorotatory Compound

A chiral compound that rotates the plane of polarized light in a counterclockwise direction.

Glycosidic Linkage

The bond that links two monosaccharides in a disaccharide.

Optically Active Compound

A compound that rotates the plane of polarized light.

Reducing Sugar

A carbohydrate that gives a positive test with Tollen’s and Benedict’s solutions.

Aldose

A monosaccharide that contains an aldehyde functional group.

Ketose

A monosaccharide that contains a ketone functional group.

Glycoprotein

A protein molecule that has one or more carbohydrate units covalently bonded to it.

Amino Sugar

A monosaccharide in which one of the hydroxyl groups is replaced with an amino group.

Disaccharide

A carbohydrate that contains two monosaccharide units covalently bonded to each other.

Polysaccharide

A polymeric carbohydrate that contains numerous monosaccharide units covalently bonded to each other.

Glycolipid

A lipid molecule that has one or more carbohydrate units covalently bonded to it.

N-acetyl-D-glucosamine

A glucose derivative that is a component of chitin.

Fischer Projection

A two-dimensional structural notation for showing the spatial arrangement of groups about chiral centers in molecules.

Haworth Projection

A two-dimensional structural notation that specifies the three-dimensional structure of a cyclic form of a monosaccharide.

Cellulose

The most abundant naturally occurring polysaccharide, serving as a structural component of plant cell walls.

Chitin

A polysaccharide that gives rigidity to the exoskeletons of arthropods.

Lactose

A disaccharide made up of a beta-D-galactose unit and a D-glucose unit.

Sucrose

A common disaccharide also known as table sugar.

Alpha-Configuration

A configuration in cyclic monosaccharides where the -OH group is on the opposite side of the ring from the -CH2OH group.

Beta-Configuration

A configuration in cyclic monosaccharides where the -OH group is on the same side of the ring as the -CH2OH group.