carbohydrate

(noun)

A sugar, starch, or cellulose that is a food source of energy for an animal or plant; a saccharide

Related Terms

  • hydrate
  • anhydride

Examples of carbohydrate in the following topics:

  • Glucose

    • Carbohydrates are the most abundant class of organic compounds found in living organisms.
    • Carbohydrates are called saccharides or, if they are relatively small, sugars.
    • Several classifications of carbohydrates have proven useful, and are outlined in the following table.
    • Carbohydrates have been given non-systematic names, although the suffix ose is generally used.
    • The most common carbohydrate is glucose (C6H12O6).
  • Formulas Using Other Configurational Notations

    • Fischer projection formulas are particularly useful for comparing configurational isomers within a family of related chiral compounds, such as the carbohydrates.
  • Fischer Projection Formulas

    • As part of his Nobel Prize-winning research on carbohydrates, the great German chemist Emil Fischer, devised a simple notation that is still widely used.
    • The usefulness of this notation to Fischer, in his carbohydrate studies, is evident in the following diagram.
  • Polyatomic Molecules

    • For example, carbohydrates have the same ratio (carbon: hydrogen: oxygen = 1:2:1) and thus the same empirical formula, but have different total numbers of atoms in the molecule.
  • Molecules

    • Macromolecules are large molecules composed of smaller subunits; this term from biochemistry refers to nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.
  • Naming Hydrates

    • Glucose, C6H12O6, was originally thought of as C6(H2O)6 and was described as a carbohydrate, but this is a very poor description of its structure given what is known about it today.
  • The Structure and Configuration of Glucose

    • Emil Fischer made use of several key reactions in the course of his carbohydrate studies.
    • Mannitol is itself a common natural carbohydrate.
  • Properties of Oxygen

    • All major classes of structural molecules in living organisms, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, contain oxygen, as do the major inorganic compounds that comprise animal shells, teeth, and bone.
  • Biosynthetic Mechanisms

    • The products of photosynthesis are a class of compounds called carbohydrates, the most common and important of which is glucose (C6H12O6).
  • Historical Background

    • Thus, strongly heating organic substances such as carbohydrates and proteins yielded water, ammonia and carbonaceous solids (all inorganic), with loss of the vial essence.
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