Carbohydrates, Proteins and Lipids Functions

Carbohydrate is an organic compound that constitutes of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. The carbohydrates are the hydrates of carbon; the carbohydrates are ketones and polyhydroxy aldehydes. In addition, they are also referred to as the saccharides; the name saccharide originates from a Greek word sakkron meaning sugar.

The classification of carbohydrates

1. Monosaccharides or Monosachoroses

Monosaccharides commonly known as simple sugars are compounds that have a free ketone group or aldehyde (BeMiller, J. N. 2018). Monosaccharides are the simplest sugars; likewise, it is hard for the sugar to get hydrolyzed. The formula is CnH2nOn or Cn(H2O)n. Equivalently, the monosaccharides are categorized into tetrose, trioses, heptodes, hexoses, pentose, etc., also as ketones or aldoses; this depends on whether the monosaccharide has aldehyde or ketone group. The examples of monosaccharides are Fructose, Ribulose, and Erythrulose.

2. Oligosaccharides or Oligosaccharides

Oligosaccharides are complex sugars, which produce a range of 2 -10 molecules of different or similar monosaccharides on the process of hydrolysis (Guo, et al., 2018). Oligosaccharides, which produce two molecules of monosaccharides on the hydrolysis process is referred to as disaccharide, while the oligosaccharide that produce three or four monosaccharides are referred to as tetracaccharides and trisaccharides. The equation formula of disaccharides is Cn(H2O)n-1; while a trisaccharides equation  is Cn(H2O)n-2. The examples of disaccharides are such as lactose and maltose, sucrose, etc.

Trisaccharides are Rabinose and Raffinose

3. Polysaccharides or Polysaccharoses 

Polysaccharides are complex sugars, which produce an estimate of 10 molecules of monosaccharides on the hydrolysis process (Meillisa, et al., (2015). The classification of polysaccharides depends on the kind of molecules yielded because of the hydrolysis process. The molecules may be homopolysaccharides, e.g., monosaccharides of similar form or heteropolysaccharides, e.g., monosaccharides of unlike kinds. The formula is (C6H10O5) x. the example of homopolysaccharides are pectin, glycogen, starch, cellulose

Heteropolysaccharides are chondroitin or Hyaluronic acid

The protein structure

Proteins are sets of amino acids, which enfold into a three-structural shape. Nevertheless, the Proteins come in different kinds of amino acid three-dimensional structure, sizes, and sequences that ruminate on their various roles in the cellular functions (Van Soest, P. J. 2018). 

Organization of Protein Structure

There are four groups of protein structure; they include, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. In addition, the groups ruminate on the temporal sequence. 

Primary Structure of Proteins-The straightforward sequence of amino acids forms the primary structure of protein. This sequence is drafted from the amino-absolute end to the carboxyl-absolute end. 

Secondary Structures of Proteins–  Secondary structures comes from non-covalent relations between the amino acids across the sequence. There are only two bonds, which turns round in space between every amino acid in support of the primary sequence chain. These type of unauthorized activities, when repeated by many amino acids in a string, produce two kinds of protein secondary structure: the helix, beta (β), and alpha (α) strand.

Tertiary Structures of Proteins– The three-dimensioned structure of one polypeptide chain is known by its tertiary structure. The tertiary structures are unlike fusions of the secondary structures. Besides, the tertiary structures are grouped into specific portions known as domains and motifs.

Quaternary Structures of Proteins– More than two polypeptide chains may connect tone another and create a quaternary structure. Moreover, hemoglobin structure comprises of four polypeptide chains, two β and two α, and subgroups transparently categorized in space.

The role of lipids in maintaining the structure of the cell membrane

Lipids are a category of molecules, which are showcased in both a biological function and a biological structure (Brodbelt, J. S. 2014). The vital functions of lipids in the cellular roles are the creation of the permeability boundary to the subcellular organelles and cells that is in the state of a lipid bilayer.

The Cell Membrane Lipids Phospholipids are a significant constituent of the cell membranes. They create a lipid bilayer, which the hydrophilic head sections automatically organize to face the flowing cytosol along with the extracellular liquid, while the hydrophobic tail sections turn away from the flowing cytosol and extracellular liquid. The semi-permeability of the lipid bilayer allows only specific molecules to disperse across the cell membrane.

 Another form of a lipid component of the cell membrane is the cholesterol. Cholesterol aids in stiffening the cell membrane (Agrawal, et al., 2016); however, cholesterol is not found in plant cell membranes of plant cells. Furthermore, Glycolipids are located on the cell membrane sides. Additionally, the glycolipids have in them a carbohydrate sugar sequence, which helps the cells to identify other types of cells found in the body.

References

Agrawal, H., Zelisko, M., Liu, L., & Sharma, P. (2016). Rigid proteins and softening of biological membranes—with application to HIV-induced cell membrane softening. Scientific reports, 6, 25412.

BeMiller, J. N. (2018). Carbohydrate chemistry for food scientists. Elsevier.

Brodbelt, J. S. (2014). Photodissociation mass spectrometry: new tools for characterization of biological molecules. Chemical Society Reviews, 43(8), 2757-2783.

Guo, Q., Goff, H. D., & Cui, S. W. (2018). Structural characterisation of galacto-oligosaccharides (VITAGOS™) sythesized by transgalactosylation of lactose. Bioactive carbohydrates and dietary fibre, 14, 33-38.

Meillisa, A., Woo, H. C., & Chun, B. S. (2015). Production of monosaccharides and bio-active compounds derived from marine polysaccharides using subcritical water hydrolysis. Food chemistry, 171, 70-77.

Van Soest, P. J. (2018). Nutritional ecology of the ruminant. Cornell university press.