Outline:

a/. Characteristics of carbohydrates

b/. Digestion and Absorption
c/. Gluconeogenesis
d/. Glycogenesis and Glycogenolysis
e/. Insulin and Glucagon
f/. Glucose Metabolism
g/. Galactose Metabolism
h/. Fructose Metabolism
i/. Dietary Fibers
a. Characteristics of Carbohydrates

Monosaccharides
Single sugar molecules :
Glucose – major backbone of starch,
glycogen, and disaccharides;
Galactose – major component of milk
sugar;
Fructose – the sweetest sugar.

Understanding Nutrition 10 th Ed - ISE, Whitney & Rolfes,

Thomson-Wadesworth, Belmont, CA, Fig. 4-4,5 p.106.
 Disaccharides

o 2 ´glucose
¾® maltose + H2O
o glucose + fructose
¾® sucrose + H2O
o glucose + galactose
¾® lactose + H2O
Understanding Nutrition 10 th Ed - ISE, Whitney & Rolfes,
Thomson-Wadesworth, Belmont, CA, Fig. 4-6,7 p.107.
 Polysaccharides

Understanding Nutrition 10 th Ed - ISE, Whitney & Rolfes,

Thomson-Wadesworth, Belmont, CA, Fig. 4-8, p.108.
b. Digestion and absorption

Cholecystokinin
(CCK)
cholecystokinin
è Pancreatic juice
release
Understanding Nutrition 10 th Ed
- ISE, Whitney & Rolfes,
Thomson-Wadesworth, Belmont,
CA, Fig. 4-10, p.112.
 Bender & Mayes,
Harper’s Illustrated
Biochemistry, 26th
Ed. Ed by Murray,
Granner, Mayes &
Rodwell, McGraw
Hill, International
Ed., fig. 44-1, p.475.

GLUT-2: (GLUCOSE) ENTEROCYTE, LIVER (IN & OUT), RENAL TUBULE CELL
GLUT-5: (FRUCTOSE) ENTEROCYTE, ADIPOCYTE, SKELETAL MUSCLE, LIVER
GLUT-1: (GLUCOSE) BRAIN, MUSCLE (BASAL)
GLUT-3: (GLUCOSE) NERVE CELLS
GLUT-4: (GLUCOSE) HORMONE/NERVE SIGNAL INDUCED TRANSPORT TO SKELETAL
MUSCLE, HEART MUSCLE, AND ADIPOCYTE
GLUT-6: A PSEUDOGENE
GLUT-7: (GLUCOSE) INTRACELLULAR TRANSPORT INTO THE ER
c. Gluconeogenesis Von Gierke’s disease
Glucose-6-
phosphatase
Glucose Glucose-6-phosphate

Fructose-6-phosphate
Fructose-6-
phosphatase

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate
Cytosol
Phosphoenolpyruvate
Phosphoenolpyruvate Pyruvate
carboxykinase kinase

Pyruvate Lactate
Malate Oxaloacetate
Pyruvate
carboxylase
Pyruvate

Oxaloacetate acetyl CoA

Mitochrondrion

Malate Krebs α-Ketoglutarate

Cycle
 d. Glycogenesis and Glycogenolysis

Amylo-1,6-glucosidase

UDP Glycogen Pi

Glycogen
Glycogen
phosphorylase
synthetase

UDP-glucose P-Glycogen
PPi

UTP Glucose-1-Phosphate Glycogen (−1 glucose)

Glucose-6-phosphate

Glucose
 How is a branch formed in glycogen?

Bender & Mayes, Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, 26th Ed. Ed

by Murray, Granner, Mayes & Rodwell, McGraw Hill,
International Ed., fig. 18-3, p.147. Amylopectinosis
 How is a branch broken in glycogen?

Pompe’s diseasese :
1, 3
Forbe’s disease: 3
1 2 3 McArdle’s disease
Glycogen Amylo-1,6- (muscle):
phosphorylase glucosidase
1
Her’s disease (liver):
1
Glycogenosis:
1 (kinase)
Bender & Mayes, Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, 26 th Ed. Ed by Murray, Granner, Mayes & Rodwell,
McGraw Hill, International Ed., fig. 18-4, p.148.
 e. Insulin and Glucagon
Action of Insulin

β cell of pancreas Muscle & Adipose Tissue

glucose glucose glucose

Glut-2

glucose
ADP IRS

ATP CO2 Glut-4

containing
vesicle
Insulin IRS−P

Protein Cpx

K+
channel
closed
Ca++

Adapted from Nutritonal Biochemistry 2 nd Ed, Tom

Brody, Academic Press, Fig.4.13, p.177, 1999.
Action of Glucagon

Adapted from Nutritonal Biochemistry 2 nd Ed, Tom

Brody, Academic Press, Fig.4.19, p.180,184, 1999.
f. Glucose Metabolism

Glycogenolysis
Glycogenesis

Glucagon
insulin

Gluconeogenesis

Hemolytic anemia

Adapted from Nutritonal Biochemistry 2 nd Ed, Tom

Brody, Academic Press, Fig.4.25, p.190, 1999.
g.(i) Galactose
Metabolism in the Liver
Galactose

Galactose 1-phosphate UDPGlc

Galactosemia Uridyl transferase Epimerase

Glucose 1- phosphate UDPGal

Glycogen

Bender & Mayes, Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, 26 th Ed. Ed by Murray, Granner, Mayes & Rodwell,
McGraw Hill, International Ed., fig. 20-A, p.170.
g.(ii) Galactose Metabolism in
the Lactating Mammary Gland

Glucose

UDPGlc

Epimerase

UDPGal Glucose

Lactose synthase

Lactose
Bender & Mayes, Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, 26 th Ed. Ed by Murray, Granner, Mayes & Rodwell,
McGraw Hill, International Ed., fig. 20-B, p.170.
 h. Fructose Metabolism

(I). Polyol Pathway Not in liver

Aldose Sorbitol
reductase dehydrogenase
D-Sorbitol D-Fructose
D-Glucose

NADPH NADP+ NAD+ NADH

Microcirculation damage
and Cataract in diabetes
(II) Integrated to glucose metabolic pathway

Not affected by
fasting or insulin.

fructokinase

D-Fructose Fructose 1-phosphate

Fructosemia Aldolase

Dihydroxyacetone-
phosphate

Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate D-Glyceraldehyde

Glycolysis

Bender & Mayes, Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, 26 th Ed. Ed by Murray, Granner,

Mayes & Rodwell, McGraw Hill, International Ed., fig. 20-5, p.169.
The Fed State

Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism with Clinical Applications 2 nd Ed,

Maria C. Linder, Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, Conn.,1991, Fig.2-2, p.18.
Early Fasting

Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism with Clinical Applications 2 nd Ed,

Maria C. Linder, Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, Conn.,1991, Fig.2-4, p.20.
w For sweetness without the taking in that
much calories as sugar.

US FDA approved sweeteners

1. Aspartame
2. Saccharin
3. Sugar alcohols
4. Acesulfame-K
5. Sucralose, etc.
Aspartame structure
and metabolism
Understanding Nutrition 10 th Ed - ISE, Whitney & Rolfes,
Thomson-Wadesworth, Belmont, CA, Fig. H4-1,2, p.135.
Acesulfame-K
“... acetoacetamide, a
breakdown product, has
been shown to affect the
thyroid in rats, rabbits, and
dogs. Administration of 1%
and 5% acetoacetamide in
the diet for three months
caused benign thyroid
tumors in rats. The rapid
appearance of tumors raises
serious questions about the
chemical carcinogenic
potency."
Environmental Health Perspectives
 Saccharin
w It causes
bladder cancer
in rats, but the
dosage is too
high (equivalent
to hundreds of
cans of diet
drinks per day).
 Cyclamate

w Not approved
yet. It causes
bladder cancer
in rats.
 Sucralose

The compound is stable and not be

absorbed by our body.
Alan R. Hirsch MD (2007)
Migraine Triggered by
Sucralose—A Case Report
Headache: The Journal of
Head and Face Pain 47 (3),
447–447.
Sugar Alcohols

Mannitol

Understanding Nutrition 10 th Ed
- ISE, Whitney & Rolfes,
Thomson-Wadesworth, Belmont,
CA, Fig. H4-3, p.137.
 Sugar alcohols
w Absorb slowly
w Evoke a low glycemic response
w Side effects: gas, abdominal discomfort,
diarrhea.
w U.S. food label regulations require the
product be stated “Excess consumption may
have a laxative effect”, if reasonable
consumption results a daily ingestion of
about 50 g.
 Stevia
w Can be sold as dietary supplement but not
approved as food additive artificial
sweetener.
w Approved in Japan.
 Dietary Fibers
a) The Nature of Dietary Fibers
w Dietary polysaccharides and lignin that are not
digested by human enzymes.
Fibers of non-starch polysaccharide nature
w Major ones are cellulose, β-glucans, hemicellulose
and pectins. Minor polysac-nature fibers are gums.
w *Special case : Resistant starch is not digested by
human enzymes not because of its chemical structure,
but rather its physical structure.
Fibers of lignin nature
w They are 3-D networks built of phenylpropane units,
and are not degraded by gut microflora.
Present Knowledge in Nutrition 9 th Ed, Vol 1, ed by
Bowman & Russell, ILSI Press, Washington, DC, p.103.
Present Knowledge in Nutrition 8 th Ed, ed by Bowman &
Russell, ILSI Press, Washington, DC.
 (Foundations of food preparation, 5th edition)

Pectin : v found in cell walls and intracellular material of fruits and

vegetables.

v structural components in the cell walls of wheat bran, whole

Hemi-cellulose :
grains, carrots, cabbage, and leafy vegetables.

v outer bran coat of cereals, legumes, nuts, & seeds; and in the
Cellulose : skin, stems, pulp, and leaves of fruits and vegetables.

Lignin : v not a carbo. Deposits with cellulose in cell walls to form tough,
stringy, fibers that are woody.

v long chains of sugars and uronic acids. Algin, carrageenan, and

Gums : agar are obtained from seaweed and gum tragacanth; locust
bean gum and guar gum are exudate gums of plant origin.

Note: Grains & cereals contain more fiber than fruits &
vegetables
b) Physical Properties of Dietary
Fiber
w Water-holding capacity è Viscosity (gel
formation).
w Suseptibility to fermentation – soluble vs
insoluble fiber.
w Bile acid binding
w Cation exchange capacity
Soluble vs Insoluble fiber

James SL, Muir JG, Curtis SL, Gibson PR (2003) Dietary fibre: a
roughage guide. Internal Medicine Journal, 33:291-296.
c) Physiological Significance of
Dietary Fiber
Desirable effects:
w Change in dietary pattern − a diet rich in fiber –
high fruit & vegetables content – improves
micronutrient intake, cholesterol profile.
w Plasma cholesterol lowering – water soluble fibers
are more effective than insoluble fibers by increasing
bile acid excretion or inhibiting cholesterol synthesis
(SCFA effects).
w Modification of the glycemic response – altering
rate of gastric emptying. Viscous CHO are effective.
c) Physiological Significance of
Dietary Fiber
w Improving large bowel function –
reducing the transit time, increasing the
stool wt & frequency, supporting the
microflora in large intestine.
– Probiotic – beneficial bacteria, such as
lactobacilli and bifidobacteria
– Prebiotic – fibers incl. fructo-oligosaccharides
& resistant starch which may facilitate the
growth of these beneficial bacteria.
Bile Acids
Undesirable outcome (Lowering nutrient
availability):
w Enzyme inhibitors – lipase, amylase, &
protease inhibitors
w Mechanical barriers – interfering with
micelle formation
w Mineral absorption interference –
chelating minerals.
 Further reading:

James SL, Muir JG, Curtis SL,

Gibson PR (2003) Dietary fibre: a
roughage guide. Internal
Medicine Journal, 33:291-296.