Page 50 - Color Atlas of Biochemistry

Carbohydrates 41

A. Polysaccharides: structure

HOCH 2 HOCH 2
H O H H O H Glycogen –
H H branched
OH H 1 4 OH H 1 homopolymer
α
O α O O
H OH H HO
HOCH2 6 CH 2 HOCH2 HOC H 2 Reducing end
H O H H O H H O H H O
H H H H
OH H 1 4 OH H 1 4 OH H 1 4 OH H OH
O α O α O α O
H OH H OH H OH H OH

HOCH 2 β HOCH 2 β HOCH 2 β HOCH 2
H O H O H O H O
H H H H
O OH H 1 O 4 H 1 O 4 OH H 1 O 4 H O
3 2
H H H H
H NHCOCH 3 H NHCOCH 3 H NHCOCH 3 H NHCOCH 3
O O
H C C C O H C C C O Murein – linear
3
3
heteropolymer
H NH H NH
Peptide
B. Important polysaccharides

Poly- Mono- Mono- Linkage Branch- Occurrence Function
saccharide saccharide 1 saccharide 2 ing

Bacteria

Murein D-GlcNAc D-MurNAc 1) β 1 4 Cell wall SC
Dextran D-Glc α1 6 α 1 3 Slime WB

Plants
Agarose D-Gal L-aGal 2) β 1 4 β 1 3 Red algae (agar) WB
Carrageenan D-Gal β 1 3 α 1 4 Red algae WB
Cellulose D-Glc β 1 4 Cell wall SC
Xyloglucan D-Glc D-Xyl (D-Gal, β 1 4 β 1 6 Cell wall SC
L-Fuc) β ( 1 2) (Hemicellulose) SC
Arabinan L-Ara α1 5 α 1 3 Cell wall (pectin)
Amylose D-Glc α1 4 Amyloplasts RC
Amylopectin D-Glc α1 4 α 1 6 Amyloplasts RC
Inulin D-Fru β 2 1 Storage cells RC

Animals
Chitin D-GlcNAc β 1 4 Insects, crabs SK
Glycogen D-Glc α1 4 α 1 6 Liver, muscle RK
Hyaluronic D-GlcUA D-GlcNAc β 1 4 Connective tissue SK,WB
acid β 1 3

SC= structural carbohydrate, RC= reserve carbohydrate,
1)
2)
WB = water-binding carbohydrate; N-acetylmuramic acid, 3,6-anhydrogalactose

Koolman, Color Atlas of Biochemistry, 2nd edition © 2005 Thieme
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