Carbohydrates & Its Classification

Carbohydrates & Its Classification

Carbohydrates

 The carbohydrates are also known as saccharides where the word saccharide has been derived from Greek word sakcharon which means sugar. It is a large group of organic compounds occurring in foods and living tissues and including sugars, starch, and cellulose. Thus it is defined as the polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones or large molecules that produce these compounds on hydrolysis is called carbohydrates. It is found in all living organism. It is used to describe the compounds that are literally hydrates of carbon. Such as glucose has a molecular formula C₆H₁₂O₆ and with empirical formula CH₂O with simplest ratio of 1:2:1. However this meaning cannot be applies to all other carbohydrates. So, it means that the carbohydrates are the compounds having many hydroxyl groups attach to the Chain of carbons which has aldehydic or ketonic group.

                                                                       

General formula

the general formula of carbohydrates are C_x (H₂O) _y where x shoes no. of carbons atoms.

Examples

Fructose (C6H12O6), Glucose (C6H12O6), Galactose (C6H12O6), starch (C6H10O5), Cellulose (C6H10O5), Sucrose (C12H22O11), Ribose (C5H10O5) and Glyceraldehyde (C3H6O3).

 Sources of Carbohydrates

The Carbohydrates are most abundant compounds that found in all living organism. As the Plants absorb inorganic compounds from surrounding that is carbon dioxide and water with presence of sun light and green pigments chlorophyll. And with the energy of sun the plants convert these inorganic compounds into the organic compounds that is carbohydrates by the process of photosynthesis. And animals eat these plants for living and after eaten animals convert these organic compound into the complex organic compounds and both plants and animal store energy in form of starch and glycogen etc through other biochemical reactions etc. In animals glucose is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water to provide metabolic energy which is used in life process. Such reaction is as given and plants

                                                       

products are good source of carbohydrates like cereal, maize, rice, wheat, potatoes and bananas are also source of carbohydrates.

                                   

Classification of carbohydrates

 The carbohydrates are divided on the basis of numbers of sugar units present in them. And It has following types

1. Mono saccharide
2. Oligo saccharide
3. Poly saccharide

✪ Mono Saccharides

 Those carbphydrates which is composed of one or single sugar unit and cannot be broken or decomposed on hydrolysis is called mono saccharide.

General formula

 the general formula of this class is C_x (H₂O) _n   where n is no. of carbon atoms from 3 to 6. And its empirical formula is CH₂O with ratio of 1 : 2 : 1 where suffix ose indicates sugar.

Examples

 the first member of this series is Glyceraldehyde which has only three carbon atoms. Other members or examples of this series are glucose, fructose, mannose, galactose and ribose etc.

Properties of Mono saccharide

The following properties are as follow

• Mono saccharides are white in colour.
• Mono saccharides are water soluble.
• Mono saccharides are crystalline solids.
• Mono Saccharides are having sweet taste.
• Mono Saccharides are the building block of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.
• Mono Saccharides contains same ratio b/w C, H and O. that is 1 : 2 : 1
• Fructose are called the fruit sugar because it gives sweet taste to the fruits.

✪ The Oligosaccharides

 The word oligo is derived form the Greek Language wich means few. Thus such carbohydrates which are composed of 2 to 10  mono saccharides units are called loigosaccharides. It is formed when the mono saccharides are combine with each other by the lose fo water molecules. Suc as Cane sugar ( tale sugar ) chemical name sucrose is formed whrn two mono saccharides are combuned by lose of water that is Glucose and fructose.  

Types of Oligosaccharides

 It is also divided on numbers of units present b/w them. Following types are as follow

1. Disaccharides
2. Trisaccharides

1) Disaccharides

 such oligosaccharides that contains two mono saccharides are called disaccharides. Such as sucrose, maltose and lactose etc.

2) Trisaccharides

such oligosaccharides that contains three mono saccharides are called trisachharides. Such as raffinose and maltotiriose etc.

Raffinose

 such trisachharides which is made up of three suguar units that is glucose, fructose and galactose etc. and it is found in plants.

Maltotriose

Such trisachharides which is found in plants like algae, yeast and blood of certain arthropodes are called maltotriose. It is also made up of three suguar units. Such as cockroach etc.

Function, importance or uses of oligosaccharides

 The following functions are as follow

• Disaccharides are used in energy drinks because they are quick source of energy.
• Oligosaccharides are cheap and easily available in nature.
• Disaccharides are having less number of mono saccharides units that’s why they take less time in our body or easily digest .
• Disaccharides like sucrose digest very qucikly and easily even in our mouth by Saliva.
• It is play a vast role in our life due to less mono saccharides units it is advised to the patients of hypoglycema ( low blood sugar condition ) to take it in very small quantity o increase the blood suguar of the patients. Etc.

✪ Poly Saccharides

 Poly means many thus such carbohydrates that contains more than 10 to several hundred in large number of saccharides u nits are called poly saccharides. Such as starch, glycogen, cellulose. All these three polysaccharides are made up of glucose units but different I the sequence of units.

Uses or Importance of carbohydrates

 The following uses are as follow

• Carbohydrates are stored in living organism is form of energy. Such as starch stored in plants and glycogen stored in animals in form of energy etc.
• Cell wall which provides shape and structure to plants in made of Carbohydrates that is cellulose.
• Carbohydrates are also used in building material of construction such glues and woods etc.
• Carbohydrates are not only used as a source of energy in our body but Carbohydrates also give specific shape to our organs. Such as muscles contain Carbohydrates.
• Few carbohydrates do not digest in our body which works to take excretory materials out of the body. Such as fibre.
• Carbohydrates are present in our genetic system in the form of RNA and DNA.
• Carbohydrates also stops the breakdown of our muscles.
• Carbohydrates are also used in manufacture of papers and clothing ( cotton ).
• In hospitals a drip containing 5% dextrose (Carbohydrates) is given to patients which cannot eat and drink. In this way due to useful use of Carbohydrates thousands of lives are saved.

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