Microfibril

The microfibril is a very fine fibril, or fiber-like strand, consisting of glycoproteins and cellulose.

An extremely thin fibril, or fibre-

like strand, which is identifiable only by electron microscopy, and typicallycomposed of glycoproteins
and cellulose (for plants)

A glycoprotein is a type of protein molecule that has had a carbohydrate attached to it.

Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide chains (glycans) covalently attached to amino
acid side-chains.

proteins include such specialized forms as collagen for supportivetissue, hemoglobin for transport, antibo
dies for immune defense, and enzymes for metabolism.

-the plant or animal tissue rich in such molecules, considered as

a food source supplyingessential amino acids to the body

Oligosaccharide, any carbohydrate of from three to six units of simple sugars

1.monosaccharides). A large number of oligosaccharides have been prepared by partially breaking down
more complex carbohydrates

2.polysaccharides

3. Raffinose, a trisaccharide found in many plants, consists of melibiose

4.galactose and glucose

5, fructose. Another plant trisaccharide is gentianose.

Maltotriose, a trisaccharide

6.glucose, occurs in some plants and in the blood of certain arthropods.

Glycans and proteins

Glycans can be found attached to proteins as in glycoproteins and proteoglycans. In general, they are
found on the exterior surface of cells. O- and N-linked glycans are very common in eukaryotes but may
also be found, although less commonly, in prokaryotes.
glucan is a polysaccharide derived from D-glucose, linked by glycosidic bonds.
Glucose (also called dextrose) is a simple sugar with the molecular formula C6H12O6

Carbon (from Latin: carbo "coal")

hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, nonmetallic,
highly combustible diatomic gas with the molecular formula H2.
Oxygen is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas essential to living organisms.

Amino acids contribute to the development of protein within the body and are vital in promoting
wound repair and encouraging healthy tissue in muscles, bones, skin and hair
foods containing amino acids

Out of the 22 amino acids, there are nine essential amino acids: Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine,
Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine, and Histidine. Foods containing all nine of these amino acids are
called complete proteins. Some of these complete proteins include:

 Eggs

 Beef

 Chicken

 Fish

 Quinoa

 Buckwheat

 Chia seeds

 Soy

 Whey

These complete proteins are essential to our overall health, which is why they are comprised of the essential amino
acids. Our bodies need all nine of these essential amino acids for basic health; since our bodies cannot make them
naturally, we must get them from other sources.

Cellulose

Cellulose is the substance that makes up most of a plant's cell walls. Since it is made by all plants, it is probably the most abundant organic

compound on Earth. Aside from being the primary building material for plants, cellulose has many others uses. According to how it is treated,

cellulose can be used to make paper, film, explosives, and plastics, in addition to having many other industrial uses. The paper in this book

contains cellulose, as do some of the clothes you are wearing. For humans, cellulose is also a major source of needed fiber in our diet.

The structure of cellulose

Cellulose is usually described by chemists and biologists as a complex carbohydrate (pronounced car-bow-HI-drayt). Carbohydrates are organic

compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that function as sources of energy for living things. Plants are able to make their own

carbohydrates that they use for energy and to build their cell walls. According to how many atoms they have, there are several different types

of carbohydrates, but the simplest and most common in a plant is glucose. Plants make glucose (formed by photosynthesis) to use for energy or

to store as starch for later use. A plant uses glucose to make cellulose when it links many simple units of glucose together to form long chains.

These long chains are called polysaccharides (meaning "many sugars"

And pronounced pahl-lee-SAK-uh-rydes), and they form very long molecules that plants use to build their walls.

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It is because of these long molecules that cellulose is insoluble or does not dissolve easily in water. These long molecules also are formed into a

criss-cross mesh that gives strength and shape to the cell wall. Thus while some of the food that a plant makes when it converts light energy

into chemical energy (photosynthesis) is used as fuel and some is stored, the rest is turned into cellulose that serves as the main building

material for a plant. Cellulose is ideal as a structural material since its fibers give strength and toughness to a plant's leaves, roots, and stems.

Cellulose and plant cells

Since cellulose is the main building material out of which plants are made, and plants are the primary or first link in what is known as the food

chain (which describes the feeding relationships of all living things), cellulose is a very important substance. It was first isolated in 1834 by the

French chemist Anselme Payen (1795–1871), who earlier had isolated the first enzyme. While studying different types of wood, Payen obtained

a substance that he knew was not starch (glucose or sugar in its stored form), but which still could be broken down into its basic units of

glucose just as starch can. He named this new substance "cellulose" because he had obtained it from the cell walls of plants.

Words to Know

Carbohydrate: A compound consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen found in plants and used as a food by humans and other animals.

Glucose: Also known as blood sugar; a simple sugar broken down in cells to produce energy.

Photosynthesis: Chemical process by which plants containing chlorophyll use sunlight to manufacture their own food by converting carbon

dioxide and water to carbohydrates, releasing oxygen as a by-product.

As the chief constituent (or main ingredient) of the cell walls of plants, cellulose performs a structural or skeletal function. Just as our hard,

bony skeletons provide attachment points for our muscles and support our bodies, so the rigidity or stiffness found in any plant is due to the

strength of its cell walls. Examined under a powerful microscope, fibers of cellulose are seen to have a meshed or criss-cross pattern that looks

as if it were woven much as cloth. The cell wall has been likened to the way reinforced concrete is made, with the cellulose fibers acting as the

rebars or steel rods do in concrete (providing extra strength). As the new cell grows, layer upon layer of new material is deposited inside the

last layer, meaning that the oldest material is always on the outside of the plant.

Human uses of cellulose

Cellulose is one of the most widely used natural substances and has become one of the most important commercial raw materials. The major

sources of cellulose are plant fibers (cotton, hemp, flax, and jute are almost all cellulose) and, of course, wood (about 42 percent cellulose).

Since cellulose is insoluble in water, it is easily separated from the other constituents of a plant. Cellulose has been used to make paper since
the Chinese first invented the process around a.d. 100. Cellulose is separated from wood by a pulping process that grinds woodchips under

flowing water. The pulp that remains is then washed, bleached, and poured over a vibrating mesh. When the water finally drains from the pulp,

what remains is an interlocking web of fibers that, when dried, pressed, and smoothed, becomes a sheet of paper.

Raw cotton is 91 percent cellulose, and its fiber cells are found on the surface of the cotton seed. There are thousands of fibers on each seed,

and as the cotton pod ripens and bursts open, these fiber cells die. Because these fiber cells are primarily cellulose, they can be twisted to form

thread or yarn that is then woven to make cloth. Since cellulose reacts easily to both strong bases and acids, a chemical process is often used to

make other products. For example, the fabric known as rayon and the transparent sheet of film called cellophane are made using a many-step

process that involves an acid bath. In mixtures if nitric and sulfuric acids, cellulose can form what is called guncotton or cellulose nitrates that

are used for explosives. However, when mixed with camphor, cellulose produces a plastic known as celluloid, which was used for early motion-

picture film. However, because it was highly flammable (meaning it could easily catch fire), it was eventually replaced by newer and more stable

plastic materials. Although cellulose is still an important natural resource, many of the products that were made from it are being produced

easier and cheaper using other materials.

Importance to human diet

Despite the fact that humans (and many other animals) cannot digest cellulose (meaning that their digestive systems cannot break it down into

its basic constituents), cellulose is nonetheless a very important part of the healthy human diet. This is because it forms a major part of

the dietary fiber that we know is important for proper digestion. Since we cannot break cellulose down and it passes through our systems

basically unchanged, it acts as what we call bulk or roughage that helps the movements of our intestines. Among mammals, only those that are

ruminants (cudchewing animals like cows and horses) can process cellulose. This is because they have special bacteria and microorganisms in

their digestive tracts that do it for them. They are then able to absorb the broken-down cellulose and use its sugar as a food source. Fungi are

also able to break down cellulose into sugar that they can absorb, and they play a major role in the decomposition (rotting) of wood and other

plant material.

[See also Plant ]

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Cellulose
Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc.

Cellulose

Cellulose is the most abundant organic molecule in nature. It is a polysaccharide assembled from glucose monomer units, and it (together with

other materials such as hemicellulose and lignin) is the main constituent of plant cell walls. Along with several undigestible polysaccharides,

cellulose constitutes the main part of dietary fiber. Specifically cellulose is one of the components of insoluble fiber.

The glucose units in cellulose are combined in a way that results in the formation of very linear, flat molecules that can, in turn, form sheets

that possess extensive networks of hydrogen bonds . The hydrogen bonds are both within individual sheets and between successive sheets. As

a result of these bonds, sheets of cellulose are particularly strong—a property critical to the function of plant cell walls. Cellulose shows a

variable degree of polymerization, with anywhere from 1,000 to 14,000 glucose residues comprising a single cellulose polymer. Because of its

high molecular weight and crystalline structure, cellulose is insoluble in water and has a poor ability to absorb water.

Human beings lack the enzyme cellulase and are therefore unable to break cellulose down to individual glucose molecules. Although many

fungi are able to break down cellulose to glucose, only a few types of bacteria have this ability. In the rumina of cows, sheep, and goats, two

different types of bacteria produce the enzyme that breaks down cellulose.

Cellulose and its derivatives are used in a number of food products to modify those foods in different ways (e.g., as a thickener, stabilizer, or

texturizer). The fibrous form is a basic material that is used to make both textiles and paper. Cellulose is also used to make nitrocellulose (an

ingredient in explosives and lacquers) and as a binder in the manufacture of medicinal tablets.

See also Fibers; Polymers, Natural; Polysaccharides.

Matthew A. Fisher

Bibliography

Atkins, Peter W. (1987). Molecules. New York: W. H. Freeman.

Internet Resources

Department of Polymer Science, University of Southern Mississippi. "Cellulose." Available from <http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/>.

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Cellulose
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

Cellulose, chief constituent of the cell walls of plants. Chemically, it is a carbohydrate that is a high molecular weight polysaccharide. Raw

cotton is composed of 91% pure cellulose; other important natural sources are flax, hemp, jute, straw, and wood. Cellulose has been used for

the manufacture of paper since the 2d cent. Insoluble in water and other ordinary solvents, it exhibits marked properties of absorption.

Because cellulose contains a large number of hydroxyl groups, it reacts with acids to form esters and with alcohols to form ethers. Cellulose

derivatives include guncotton, fully nitrated cellulose, used for explosives; celluloid (the first plastic), the product of cellulose nitrates treated

with camphor; collodion, a thickening agent; and cellulose acetate, used for plastics, lacquers, and fibers such as rayon.

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Cellulose
Plant Sciences
COPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc.

Cellulose

Cellulose is a major structural component of the cell walls of all land plants, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. The cell wall is a

complex polysaccharide layer that surrounds each cell within a plant. Chemically, cellulose is a polysaccharide made up of long, unbranched

chains of glucose linked end to end, making a very flat chain. (Starch is also made up of glucose, but linked such that it curls, resulting in very

different properties.) Many cellulose chains associate side by side to make a cellulose ribbon, or microfibril, that has exceptional mechanical

strength and chemical stability.