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carbohydrates as biology
importance of carbohydrates biology essay
importance of carbohydrates biology essay
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Animals and plants each require their own unique form of carbohydrates, fats, and protein to function. Humans have many chemical compounds found in the body, each classified as different macromolecules. Macromolecules include fats, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleotides. Each performing their own unique function in the human body.
Carbohydrates, or carbs, are used to spare the use of protein in the body and use it as energy. Carbs can be found in many foods, such as grains, fruits and milk products. "After carbohydrate is eaten, it is broken down into smaller units of sugar (including glucose, fructose and galactose) in the stomach and small intestine (Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, n.d.)." The roles in in animals it to provide energy for muscles, fuel for the nervous system and enable fat metabolism. Carbs consist of many carbons and hydrogen linked together by glycosidic bonds Plants produce all kinds of carbohydrates that each perform different tasks. Cellulose is used to keep structure of plants, while Pectins are used to help the digestive system. Carbohydrates in their raw form are also used as amino acids, which is a building block of DNA. Carbs can be found in most fruits and grain foods.
There are many kinds of carbohydrates; monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides each containing a certain number of sugars in them. Monosaccharides are classified by the number of carbons in its carbon skeleton. Some examples of a monosaccharides are glucose, which is basic sugar, fructose, and hydroxyl. Disaccharides (which are built from monosaccharides) include sucrose, lactose, and maltose, which are all forms of sugars. Lastly, polysaccharides are made from both monosaccharides and disaccharides, these inclu...
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...eloped muscles and support of the body. So in conclusion, all forms of chemical compounds and macromolecules are essential in plants and animals. They all work together to maintain and support organisms. The lack of just one macromolecule leads to a drop in nutrients and causes the body to no longer operate.
Works Cited
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. (n.d.). Retrieved from Human Sciences: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/content/carbohydrate
Kannall, E. (n.d.). SFGate. Retrieved from Eating Healthy: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/carbohydrates-made-plants-not-digested-humans-8531.html
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from Lipids: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from Cholesterol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholesterol
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from Hydrolysis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolysis
Macromolecules are define as large molecules of structures found in living organisms. There are four types of macromolecules, which are proteins, carbohydrate, nucleic acid, and lipids also known as fats. Carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids are made of monomers, which are structural units that eventually attached together to form polymers (Dooley 20). For instance, proteins are made of amino acids, which are monomers. In addition, it has a complex structure, which consist of four different levels, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. The first structure of protein is the primary structure, which is the sequence of amino acid, while in the secondary structure alpha and beta helices are formed. The structure, in which a protein becomes active, is in the tertiary structure, which is where polypeptide subunits fold. Meanwhile, only certain proteins have the quaternary structure, which is when, more than one polypeptide folds. Proteins are prominent macromolecules mainly because of their numerous functions. For instance, proteins are known for increasing the rate of reactions due to that enzymes are a type of protein. In addition, they are a form of defense mechanism such as they attack pathogens, which cause diseases. In other words, scientists study and gain more insight on certain illness and how to prevent them by using proteins. For example, in a recent study,
Carbohydrates pose a big role in food and diets as we are all very familiar with them. This macromolecule provides a short period of energy for our bodies through glucose, this is similar to how lipids store energy as well. Carbohydrates are found in eukaryotic cells on the outer surface of the cell membrane. A carbohydrate is made up of 3 different elements, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen which is the same for the other 3
Carbohydrate digestion begins in the saliva and stomach where alpha-amylase hydrolyses alpha-1, 4 glycosidic bonds between glucose molecules in starch, forming maltotriose, the disaccharide maltose and dextrin’s made of five to ten glucose molecules (Lim, 2007). The disaccharides sucrose and lactose come directly from food. There are four enzymes found on the brush-border membrane responsible for hydrolysing sucrose, lactose and the products of starch break down, into monosaccharaides so that they can be absorbed (Lieberman et al, 2007). These enzymes are known as glycosidases and include; glucoamylase, lactase, trehalase and sucrase isomaltase (Lieberman et al, 2007). Sucrase isomaltase...
One of the four molecules is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are made out of CHO. The main building blocks are sugars (saccharides). What carbohydrates do for us is they store fuel for our cells. They are fast energy. Glucose, fructose, and galactose are examples of single or simple sugar molecules or monosaccharide. Maltose, sucrose, and lactose are examples of two sugar molecules linked, also known as disaccharide. Starch, glycogen, and cellulose are examples of many sugar molecules linked. They are also called polysaccharide. If you wanted to test if there were carbohydrates in something you could do the sugar or the starch test.
One of nature's greatest possessions, is life, and every part of life depends on molecules. Four common molecules are Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids and Nucleic Acids. Within these molecules contains part, or all, of the four major elements, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen, (C.H.O.N). It is an essential part of life to have these molecules or their would be no living creatures. Molecules, Atoms, and elements are all apart of the body and every creature needs them.
Macromolecules are large molecules that are made up of many smaller molecules and can be found in living things. They are formed through polymerization. Polymerization occurs when smaller molecules (monomers) join together to create larger molecules (polymers). Macromolecules are sorted by their chemical composition into the groups: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins all of which are essential for living things to. The carbohydrates and lipids are needed for energy. But, carbohydrates are the main source of energy for living things, while, lipids mainly stores the energy. Proteins are used to build and maintain bones including muscle and
Protein. This places a crucial role as it helps maintain the body tissue, as well as helps repair damaged body tissue, and it assists in the growth of the human body. Proteins contain amino acids, which help assist the building blocks of the body. Energy is essential for the functioning of the body, and protein helps give the body energy.
Each of the three major macronutrients — proteins, fats and carb — has important and distinct roles in the body when it comes to weight management, hormonal balance, immunity, development and so on. Here are some of the most important reasons why we need each macronutrient:
Proteins are any of a large class of complex organic chemical compounds that form the basis tissues and play a central role in biological processes (The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary 272). Proteins are essential to building muscle mass.
Carbohydrates are biomolecules that consist of a chain or ring of carbon atoms attached to hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The simplest formula for carbohydrates is (CH2O)n. Carbohydrates are important to organisms for a variety of reasons. They are used to form the structural components of the cell, aid in energy storage, and serve as intermediary compounds for more complex molecules. Carbohydrates are classified as either monosaccharides, disaccharides, or polysaccharides. Both monosaccharides and disaccharides dissolve easily in water. Carbohydrates are produced in plants through the process of photosynthesis and animals obtain these carbohydrates by eating the plants. ("BIO 1510 Laboratory Manual," 2016)
Food contains variety of nutrients, which is essential to our bodies. Nutrition is necessary to support the activities of day-to-day living. Nutrients in the food help maintaining normal growth and development, tissue maintenance and repair, cellular metabolism, and organ function (Potter, 2012, p.996). There are two groups of nutrients: macronutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. However, nutrition should include water too because water helps protecting and repairing cells from environmental damage. Each nutrient has its own functions to restore our body. Proteins rebuild damaged tissue and promote growth. Carbohydrates and fats provide energy to the body, while vitamins and minerals function throughout the body in support of body’s processes. Water is essential for cellular homeostasis and life: it removes waste products including toxins out of vital organs. It moves nutrients to the cells, regulates body temperature, and providing a moist for brain, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, spinal cord, and
The most important nutrient categories are starches, minerals, sugars, and electrolytes. Starches and minerals fit into the area of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are polysaccharides (many sugars bonded together). Because of the multiple bonds, polysaccharides are able to store energy for later use. Simple sugars make up the other group of carbohydrates. The bonding structures of simple sugars are much less advanced that than those of complex carbohydrates. This allows for the burning of simple sugars in an athlete's body. Electrolytes are a category of their own because they are helpful to an athlete all of the time, whether energy storage or energy burning is needed.
The macronutrients a person consumes are what the body needs to function properly. They are the nutrients from protein, fats and carbohydrates that make up a person's daily nutrition. The amount of macronutrients and ratio of one to the other is what people alter to achieve a certain result. For example, lowering carbs and fats while amping up on protein is what body builders do to gain more muscle. Runners will lower protein while increasing carbs to give themselves a rush for a big races.
Carbohydrates are divided into two groups, simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, sometimes called simple sugars, include fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), as well as several other sugars. Fruits are one of the richest natural sources of simple carbohydrates.
All of these substances serve one purpose or another when consumed into the body. Carbohydrates, for example, are broken down in the body to provide energy for the body to perform reactions and to regain stamina. Protein helps muscles to recover stronger than before as well as help skin and hair cells to develop. Some substances, such as fat and sugar, can be misinterpreted as being harmful to the body. However, fats and sugars are vital to the human body and without them certain processes within the body could not take place ("What's In Food", Nutriti...