Carbohydrate Metabolism: Definition, Disorders, Diagram

Carbohydrate Metabolism can be described as the primary biochemical process which is responsible for the formation, breakdown, and conversion of carbohydrates in all living beings. Through the process, energy is supplied to all living cells. Read this entire article to know about carbohydrates, carbohydrate metabolism, disorders related to carbohydrate metabolism and glycolysis.

Keyterms: Carbohydrate, Cell, Metabolism, Glycolysis, Starch, Glycogen, Energy, Nucleic acid, DNA, RNA, Ribosome, Gene, Glycolipids, Glycoproteins

Read more: Cell biology

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Carbohydrate Metabolism 

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Carbohydrates is one of the most discussed topics among science students around the world. They are referred to by names like disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polysaccharides or occasionally even by terms like complex carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates help living things in several ways, such as storing energy in the form of glycogen and starch. It helps with cell signaling like glycolipids and glycoproteins which act as blood group determinants. 

It helps transport energy to muscles and the nervous system. This would mean that each particular cell is different from the primarily chosen primary fuel molecule with particular differences on distinct cell types. Moreover, it acts as a cell surface producer, is part of nucleic acids such as mRNA, tRNA, ribosome, and genes, etc. As with humans, carbohydrates that aid metabolism is available as starch and glycogen as alpha glycosidic bonds.

Carbohydrate Metabolism can be described as the primary biochemical process which is responsible for the formation, breakdown, and conversion of carbohydrates in all living beings. Through the process, energy is supplied to all living cells.

Dietary glucose is found in abundance in starch. Tests are enzymes that break down starch to help metabolism. Glucose has many sources such as lactose (from milk), fructose (from fruit), and sucrose (from table sugar). absorption of fructose, glucose, and fructose which are known as monosaccharide species. The components of monosaccharides are formed by the division of disaccharides by special intestinal glucosidases. Types of glucose such as maltose are hydrolyzed by isomaltase with less ability to achieve desired results. Lactose intolerance is caused by a deficiency of lactase, an enzyme needed to break down lactose in milk and other dairy products.

The small intestine contains cells in the intestinal lining that carry monosaccharides through the circulatory system, where they travel to the liver, where galactose and fructose are converted into glucose. The excess glucose molecules are stored primarily in the liver and muscle cells as glycogen. It is also stored as metabolized fat in adipocytes. Instead of fat, only glycogen would be used to maintain an adequate level of glucose in the blood when food intake is limited. Fat can be used for oxidative regeneration of the body. ATP and reducing power (NADH).

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Disorders Related to Carbohydrate Metabolism 

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When Carbohydrate Metabolism is improper, it can cause numerous diseases. The most common ones are mentioned below. 

• Diabetes Mellitus: This is due to a lack of insulin resistance or insulin resistance, which in turn leads to hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.
• Lactose Intolerance: In fact, it is an allergy common among adults. This is mainly due to a deficiency of the lactase enzyme. This enzyme is responsible for the conversion of lactose disaccharides to glucose monosaccharides.
• Galactosemia: This particular disease is quite rare. This is due to innate mutations in enzymes involved in glucose metabolic pathways.
• Gierke's Disease: It is a condition in which the body cannot break down glycogen. Glycogen is a form of sugar (glucose) that is stored in the liver and muscles. It is usually broken down into glucose to give you more energy when you need it. Von Gierke disease is also called glycogen storage disease type I (GSD I).

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Glycolysis

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• Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that breaks down hexose monosaccharides, such as glucose, fructose, and galactose, into pyruvate molecules, water, energy, and ions. 
• Typically, glycolysis consists of 10 steps that are closely related to enzymes. 
• However, they can be divided into two main phases - phosphorylation and energy production. 
• Glucose is the most readily available source of energy in the human body. 
• After the polysaccharides are broken down into monosaccharides during digestion, the monosaccharides are transported into the circulatory system. 
• It is then transported to the liver, where hepatocytes either store excess glucose as glycogen or pass it through the circulatory system. 
• In addition, glycolysis is a series of reactions that promote the absorption of glucose by cells in response to insulin.
• In turn, the energy present in glucose is transferred to ADP to make ATP, which then produces pyruvate as a by-product.

Read more: Differences between catabolism and anabolism

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Things to Remember

• Carbohydrates is one of the most discussed topics among science students around the world.
• Carbohydrate Metabolism can be described as the primary biochemical process which is responsible for the formation, breakdown, and conversion of carbohydrates in all living beings. 
• Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that breaks down hexose monosaccharides, such as glucose, fructose, and galactose, into pyruvate molecules, water, energy, and ions.
• Glucose is the most readily available source of energy in the human body. 
• Carbohydrates help living things in several ways, such as storing energy in the form of glycogen and starch.
• The small intestine contains cells in the intestinal lining that carry monosaccharides through the circulatory system, where they travel to the liver, where galactose and fructose are converted into glucose.

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Previous Year Questions

• A major site for synthesis of lipids is….[NEET 2013]
• which one of the following colours of light so as to….[NEET 2005]
• According to fluid mosaic model, plasma membrane is….[NEET 1998]
• Acetabularia used in Hammerling's nucleocytoplasmic...[NEET 1988]
• All types of plastids possess essentially….[NEET 1992]
• An outer covering membrane is absent over….[NEET 1992]
• Balbiani rings are the sites of...[NEET 1993]
• the Golgi apparatus is also concerned with the...[NEET 1994]
• Biological organisation starts with….[NEET 2007]
• A bivalent consists of...[NEET 1989]
• A cell organelle containing hydrolytic enzymes is...[NEET 2016]
• Water soluble pigments found in plant cell vacuoles….[NEET 2016]
• Which of the following are not membrane - bound?….[NEET 2015]
• Electron microscope has a high resolution power…. [NEET 1990]
• Flagella of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells….[NEET 2004]