CHEMISTRY OF CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrate is biochemical substance in living organism. Carbohydrate is found in large number of food, such as sugar, milk, jams potatoes, cereal, bread, etc.

Many more of carbohydrate found in the universe is known as biomolecule. All sugar is carbohydrate, but not all carbohydrate is sugar, the simplest known carbohydrate on earth is called monosaccharide, carbohydrate composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen with a ratio of 1:2:1 as a chemical molecular composition, carbohydrate have a general molecular formula of CnH2nOn

When C is 2 then H will be 2X2 which is 4 the same method also applicable to O. glucose is one of the important carbohydrate, follow by galactose, fructose etc.

In monosaccharide, fructose is one of the carbohydrates that commonly associated with the sweetness of fruit.

GROUP OF CARBOHYDRATE

 Carbohydrates are group into four categories, which are;

1) Monosaccharide

2) Disaccharide 

3) Polysaccharide

4) Oligosaccharide

In reaction of some monosaccharide after condensation to oligosaccharide, polysaccharide, or disaccharide, the number of carbon present reduced relatively to H, O. Still represent in ratio 2:1 (H: O).

 Carbohydrate are group as aldose having aldehyde group attached to it carbon chain, or keto having ketone group attached to it carbon chain group.

Example of aldehyde carbohydrate are glucose, galactose, manose, where the same example of ketone group are found on the above listed. They are called aldehyde or ketone group base on the side chain, but fructose is mostly found as ketone a ketone carbohydrate.

Aldose and ketone attached to these chain of carbohydrate occurs in an equilibrium levels, that is posses an equal proportional level between one of the hydroxyl groups of the sugar chain with carbon of the aldehyde or ketone group to hemiacetal (furanose) or six numbered (pyranose).

DEFINATION OF CARBOHYDRATE

Carbohydrate is defined chemically as a chemical derivative of aldehyde or ketone which is of highly polyhydric alcohol. In this definition, it can be observed that carbohydrate is defined base on the chemistry attached to it carbon chain. 

MONOSACHARIDE

Monosaccharide is the simplest sugar which is easily absorbed by the body system when take in as food, this substance as the name implied, cannot be broke down of hydrolyzed further to another or any simplest form of sugar again. Monosaccharide is the list of all saccharide, it is absorb directly from the intestine to blood stream when ingested.

Monosaccharides have a general formula which is; CnH2nOn and this formula is the derivative of all sources of carbohydrate.

GROUP OF MONOSACCHARIDE

Monosaccharide is group into two categories, 

1) On this category, they are grouped base on the number of carbon atom present in the compound.

i) Triose          (C3H6O3)

ii) Tetrose        (C4H8O4)

iii) Pentose       (C5H10O5)

iv) Hexose       (C7¬H14O7)

2) On this category, they are grouped base on either aldehyde (-OH) or ketone

      (-CO) group attached to it carbon atom present in the compound.

When aldehyde is attached to the compound, is called aldehyde         monosaccharide. Bellow is aldehyde monosaccharide

i) Erythrose

ii) Ribose

iii) Glucose

     Bellow are example of ketone monosaccharide

i) Erythrulose

ii) Fructose

iii) Ribulose

iv) Dihydroxyacetone

Another way which monosaccharide are categorized is base on there miro image, which is (D) destroratory and (L) lavoratotory forms. This form of categorization is based on their configurational isomer. Isomer is chemical compounds that have the same molecular formula but the deferent molecular structural configuration. Carbohydrates have a carbon called a chiral carbon. Click hear for more information on chiral  carbon