How many glucose molecules in glycogen

Fructose is another sugar that also has 6 carbons, 12 hydrogens, and 6 oxygen atoms. However, the arrangement of the atoms is different, and this makes it much sweeter than glucose and also affects its ability to combine with other molecules.

Another important theme is that single units of biological molecules monomers can join to form increasingly complex molecules polymers. For example, two monosaccharide sugars can also become bound together chemically to form a disaccharide. Sucrose is the disaccharide in common sugar that we buy at the grocery store.

The structure of sucrose is shown below. Glucose and fructose are examples of monosaccharides, meaning they consist of a single sugar unit, while sucrose is an example of a disaccharide. They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous. The chain may be branched or unbranched, and it may contain different types of monosaccharides. The molecular weight may be , daltons or more depending on the number of monomers joined.

Starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin are primary examples of polysaccharides. Starch is the stored form of sugars in plants and is made up of a mixture of amylose and amylopectin both polymers of glucose. The starch in the seeds provides food for the embryo as it germinates and can also act as a source of food for humans and animals. The starch that is consumed by humans is broken down by enzymes, such as salivary amylases, into smaller molecules, such as maltose and glucose.

The cells can then absorb the glucose. The numbers and refer to the carbon number of the two residues that have joined to form the bond. Figure 6. Amylose and amylopectin are two different forms of starch. Because of the way the subunits are joined, the glucose chains have a helical structure.

Glycogen not shown is similar in structure to amylopectin but more highly branched. Glycogen is the storage form of glucose in humans and other vertebrates and is made up of monomers of glucose. Glycogen is the animal equivalent of starch and is a highly branched molecule usually stored in liver and muscle cells.

Whenever blood glucose levels decrease, glycogen is broken down to release glucose in a process known as glycogenolysis. Cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer. The cell wall of plants is mostly made of cellulose; this provides structural support to the cell. Wood and paper are mostly cellulosic in nature. Figure 7. Because of the way the glucose subunits are joined, every glucose monomer is flipped relative to the next one resulting in a linear, fibrous structure.

As shown in Figure 7, every other glucose monomer in cellulose is flipped over, and the monomers are packed tightly as extended long chains. This gives cellulose its rigidity and high tensile strength—which is so important to plant cells.

In these animals, certain species of bacteria and protists reside in the rumen part of the digestive system of herbivores and secrete the enzyme cellulase. The appendix of grazing animals also contains bacteria that digest cellulose, giving it an important role in the digestive systems of ruminants. J Agric Food Chem. Orzechowski S. Starch metabolism in leaves. Acta Biochim Pol.

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