Carbohydrates
Aldie H. Fajardo, RND, LPT, MHA, MPM
Outline
• Carbohydrate Chemistry: Structure, Function and Classification
• Carbohydrate Nutritional processes
• Maintenance of Blood Glucose Concentration
• Integrated Metabolism and its Regulation
• Glycemic Response to Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
• foods that refer to starches and sugars
Drewnowski, A. et al. (2022)
Carbohydrates
• furnish the major
source of energy and
form the bulk of the diet
around the world:
• 50 – 60 % in developed
countries
• 70 – 80 % in the
Philippines and other
oriental countries
FAO Statistics Division
Carbohydrates
• Most abundant organic
biomolecule
• containing carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen
• Structurally are polyhydroxy
aldehydes or polyhydroxy
ketones
“hydrate of carbon”
(CH2O)n
Carbohydrate Function
Chief source of Structural
component Non-energy related functions:
energy important constituents of tissue antigens,
nucleic acids, interstitial fluid matrix
Biological activity: Catalytic,
immune response, cellular
lubrication, cellular differentiation
Carbohydrate Classification
Simple Carbohydrates
• Monosaccharides
• structurally the simplest
form of carbohydrate
• cannot be reduced in size
to smaller carbohydrate units
by hydrolysis
• most abundant
monosaccharide in nature:
glucose
General Properties of Monosaccharides
• Sweet tasting, but their relative sweetness
varies greatly
• Polar compounds with high melting points
• High water solubility
• Reducing in nature
• Shows stereoisomerism
Simple Carbohydrates
• Glucose
• also known as dextrose
• principal product of starch and cane sugar hydrolysis
• the circulating carbohydrate; the most important sugar in human metabolism
• oxidized in the cells to release energy
Fischer projection Cyclized Fischer projection Haworth projection
Simple Carbohydrates
• Fructose
• sweetest of all sugars and is found pre-formed in honey, ripe fruits and some vegetables
• hydrolyzed from sucrose and inulin
• also known as levulose
Fischer projection Cyclized Fischer projection Haworth projection
Simple Carbohydrates
• Disaccharides
• Two monosaccharide units joined by covalent
bonds
Simple Carbohydrates
• Sucrose
• most commonly used natural sweetener
• hydrolyzed into glucose and fructose
• α1-β2 glycosidic bond; non-reducing sugar
• (1
• Maltose
• also called malt sugar (derived from partial hydrolysis of starch)
• does not occur free in nature but can be hydrolyzed by amylases from
starches and cereal grains
• α(1-4) glycosidic bond
• Lactose
• milk sugar; least sweet
• can be fermented by bacteria in the intestines that cause a laxative
effect
• β(1,4) glycosidic bond
• Trehalose
• found naturally in bacteria, yeast, fungi (mushrooms), shrimp, and plants
• acts as a stabilizer; α(1-1) glycosidic bond
• digested slowly and low glycemic response
Complex Carbohydrates
• Oligosaccharides
• contain 3–10 saccharide units
Function as Prebiotics
Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Lactobacilli Clostridium, Enterococcus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter
(Hanau et al., 2020)
Complex Carbohydrates
• Polysaccharides
• are long chains of monosaccharide
units (>10 CHO units) that may
extend to some hundreds or even
thousands
• Major polysaccharides of interest in
nutrition:
• Animal tissues: glycogen
• Plant: starch and cellulose
Complex Carbohydrates
Starch
• Storage of polysaccharide in plants
• Glucose is the monomeric unit
• occur in cereal grains, potatoes,
legumes, and other vegetables
• Types:
• Amylose – linear, unbranched; α(14)
glycosidic bonds; contributes to about
15–20%
• Amylopectin – branched; α(14) and
α(16); 4%–5% branch points at
approx. every 20–30 units; contribute to
about 80–85%
Complex Carbohydrates
Cellulose
• major component of cell walls in plants
• Contains β(14) glycosidic bonds
• occur in root and leafy vegetables,
legumes, and some fruits such as pears
and apples
Complex Carbohydrates
Glycogen
• Storage of polysaccharide in animals
• Localized primarily in liver and skeletal muscle
• Branched chain polymer with α(14)
glycosidic bonds in straight chains and α(16)
in branches
• Three times more highly branched than
amylopectin in starch
• Contains up to 1,000,000 glucose units
Carbohydrate
Nutritional
Processes
METABOLISM REVIEW
MAJOR
CARBOHYDRATE
METABOLIC PATHWAYS
• Glycolysis
• Citric acid cycle (Krebs)
• Gluconeogenesis
• Glycogenesis
• Glycogenolysis
• Pentose Phosphate Pathway
METABOLISM REVIEW
Citric acid cycle
• also known as Tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA),
Krebs cycle
• 8 step
• Important reactions in the citric acid cycle include:
• Reduction of NAD+ and FAD to produce
NADH and FADH2
• Decarboxylation of citric acid to produce
carbon dioxide
METABOLISM REVIEW
MAJOR
CARBOHYDRATE
METABOLIC PATHWAYS
•Glycogenesis
• Glycogenolysis
•Gluconeogenesis
• Pentose Phosphate Pathway
OTHER CHO METABOLIC PATHWAY REVIEW
Gluconeogenesis
• Metabolic pathway by which glucose is synthesized from
noncarbohydrate materials
• Maintains blood glucose level during starvation
•Prolonged starvation ↑ rate of protein catabolism
• Non-carbohydrate starting materials for gluconeogenesis
• Pyruvate
• Lactate (from muscles and red blood cells)
• Glycerol (from triacylglycerol hydrolysis)
• Glucogenic amino acids (from dietary protein hydrolysis
or muscle protein during starvation)
OTHER CHO METABOLIC PATHWAY REVIEW
Gluconeogenesis
• not a reversal of glycolysis
• 4 alternate reactions:
• Carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate
• Conversion of oxaloacetate to phosphoenolpyruvate
• Dephosphorylation of Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate
• Dephosphorylation of Glucose 6-phosphate
OTHER CHO METABOLIC PATHWAY REVIEW
GLYCEMIC
RESPONSE TO
CARBOHYDRATES
GLYCEMIC INDEX
defined as the increase in blood glucose level above the baseline level following the
consumption of a defined amount of carbohydrate compared with the same amount of
carbohydrate in a reference food
a relative ranking of carbohydrate in foods according to how they affect
blood glucose levels
FACTORS AFFECTING GLYCEMIC INDEX
•Type ofstarch
•Physical entrapment
•Viscosity of fiber
•Sugar content
• Foodprocessing and Cooking
CARBOHYDRATES – in disease states
DIABETES MELLITUS
•group of metabolic
disorders characterized by
an elevated blood
glucose concentration
and disordered insulin
metabolism (defects in
secretion, action or both)
CARBOHYDRATES – in disease states
DIABETES MELLITUS
CARBOHYDRATES – in disease states
DIABETES MELLITUS
CARBOHYDRATES – in disease states
DIABETES MELLITUS
CARBOHYDRATES – in disease states
DIABETES MELLITUS
CARBOHYDRATES – in disease states
DIABETES MELLITUS
