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Diet and Nutrition |
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Carbohydrates |
Carbohydrates or saccharides are the most abundant of
the four major classes of biomolecules. They fill numerous roles in living things,
such as the storage and transport of energy (e.g., starch, glycogen) and structural
components (e.g., cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods). In addition, carbohydrates
and their derivatives play major roles in the working process of the immune system,
fertilization, pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.
Carbohydrates are simple organic compounds that are aldehydes or ketones with many hydroxyl groups added, usually one on each carbon atom that is not part of the aldehyde
or ketone functional group. The basic carbohydrate units are called monosaccharides;
examples are glucose, galactose, and fructose. The general stoichiometric formula
of an unmodified monosaccharide is (C•H2O)n, where n is any number of three or greater;
however, not all carbohydrates conform to this precise stoichiometric definition
(e.g., uronic acids, deoxy-sugars such as fucose), nor are all chemicals that do
conform to this definition automatically classified as carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are the main energy source for the human body. Chemically, carbohydrates
are organic molecules in which carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen bond together in the
ratio: Cx (H2O) y, where x and y are whole numbers that differ depending on the
specific carbohydrate to which we are referring. Animals (including humans) break
down carbohydrates during the process of metabolism to release energy..
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