BIOLOGICAL
MACROMOLECULES
SHEENA MAE N. DALGUNTAS
SST-I
Objectives
Explain how the structures of biological macromolecules such as
carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acid, and proteins determine their
properties and functions (S11/12PS-IIIe-22)
After going through this module, you are specifically expected to:
1. define carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins;
2. describe the structures of biological macromolecules
(carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins); and
3. explain the structures of biological macromolecules in determining
its properties and functions
Activity 1: What did you eat today?
Carbohydrates
• The main sources of energy (ATP) needed by
our body.
• Measured by Calorie which refers to the
amount of energy.
• Composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
in approximately [Link] ratio with a general
formula of Cn (H2 O)n.
• The word “carbohydrate” means “carbon
plus water or hydrated carbon.”
FUNCTIONS OF CARBOHYDRATES
• In plants and arthropods, carbohydrates form the skeletal structures,
they also serve as food reserves in plants and animals.
• They are important energy source required for various metabolic
activities, the energy is derived by oxidation.
• Living organisms use carbohydrates as accessible energy to fuel
cellular reactions. They are the most abundant dietary source of
energy (4kcal/gram) for all living beings.
• They form structural and protective components, like in the cell
wall of plants and microorganisms. Structural elements in the cell
walls of bacteria (peptidoglycan or murein), plants (cellulose) and
animals (chitin).
Nutrition Facts Example
MONOSACCHARIDES
• Mono means “one” and sacchar means sugar.
• Is the simplest form of carbohydrate with
chemical formula of C6 H12 O6.
• Each is a 6 – carbon sugar or hexose.
Examples of Monosaccharides
•Glucose
• fructose
•galactose.
GLUCOSE
• Also known as dextrose or grape sugar/ wine
sugar is the only form of sugar used by the body
that provides energy to fuel all cellular processes.
• It is also the most abundant carbohydrate in the
blood (blood sugar).
• Broken down in glycolysis and other pathways to
release energy for the body function.
• It requires no digestion and may be given
intravenously to patients who cannot take food by
mouth.
• Glycosuria is the term for glucose present in
urine.
GALACTOSE
• Or aldohexose is less soluble and less sweet
than sugar.
• It is obtained from milk and an important
component that serves as a marker than can
help identify blood types.
• It is similar to glucose in its structure, differing
only in the position of one hydroxyl group.
• Galactosemia refers to the genetic metabolic
disorder that affects how the body processes
galactose.
FRUCTOSE
• Or levulose is considered the sweetest among
the sugar being twice as sweet as glucose.
• A ketohexose also known as fruit sugar.
• It is found in fruits, honey and corn syrups.
• It is metabolized directly but is also readily
converted to glucose in the liver.
DISACCHARIDES
• Di means “two”
• Are made up of two monosaccharides joined
together by condensation reaction (loss of
water).
• It has chemical formula of C12 H22 O11.
• The bond that joins the two simple sugars is
called glycosidic bond.
• Disaccharides can be broken down into simple
sugar through the process of hydrolysis
(addition of water).
SUCROSE
• Commonly known as table sugar
• Is a combination of glucose and fructose and
is considered as an excellent natural
preservative.
• found in table sugar processed from sugar
cane, sweet fruits, and storage roots like
carrots
LACTOSE
• Is also known as milk sugar.
• It is made up of glucose and galactose
monosaccharide units.
• An enzyme lactase is needed in order to digest
lactose.
• Lactose intolerance is a common digestive
disorder where the body cannot fully digest
lactose.
MALTOSE
• Also known as malt sugar which is least
common disaccharide made up of two glucose
units.
• Maltose is created by the breakdown of
starch.
• This sugar is important in brewing and as a
sweetener
POLYSACCHARIDES
• Polysaccharides are polymers of
monosaccharide units.
• Made up of repeating units of sugar
joined together by glycosidic bonds.
• They are unsweet and complex
carbohydrates.
• They are insoluble in water and are not
in crystalline form.
CELLULOSE
• The most abundant organic molecule which is
also the polymer of glucose.
• Provides support to cell walls of plants and
other organisms such as bacteria.
• The cellulose in plant foods passes unchanged
through our digestive tract is commonly
known as fiber.
• Can be digested only by few microorganisms
that live in digestive tract of goats and cows.
CHITIN
• Principal component of exoskeletons
of animals like mollusk and
crustaceans.
• used for structural support in the
walls of fungi and in external
skeletons of arthropods
• It is used in making surgical threads,
binders in dyes, fabrics and adhesive.
STARCH
• Storage polysaccharide derived from potatoes,
wheat, bread, pasta and other bread products.
• Ptyalin or salivary amylase is the enzyme that
changes starch into sugar.
• Enzymes in the small intestine membranes
complete the conversion of starch to glucose
which is the absorbed in the bloodstream.
GLYCOGEN
• Usually referred to as
animal starch which is
stored in the liver and
muscle.
• Major glucose storage
monomers and starch –
like polysaccharide
produced by animals.
PEPTIDOGLYCAN
• used for structural support in bacterial cell walls
LIPIDS
TWO TYPES OF FATTY ACIDS
• Saturated fatty acids -
have relatively high melting
points, explaining why they
are solids at room
temperature. Animals use
saturated fatty acids to store
energy.
•
Single bonds
TWO TYPES OF FATTY ACIDS
• Unsaturated fatty acids -
have relatively low melting
points, which explains why
they are liquids at room
temperature. Plants use
unsaturated fatty acids to
store energy.
Double bonds
TWO TYPES OF FATTY ACIDS
• Classification of
Lipids
➢Fatty acids
➢Waxes
➢Triglycerides
➢Phospholipids
VARIETY OF LIPIDS
• FATS
• OILS
• WAXES
• PHOSPHOLIPIDS
• GLYCOLIPIDS
Did you know?
Pandas don’t hibernate.
When winter approaches, they head lower down their mountain homes to warmer
temperatures, where they continue to chomp away on bamboo!
There are more kangaroos than humans in Australia.
It is estimated that more than 50 million kangaroos live there. They are Australia’s
national symbol and appear on postage stamps, coins, and airplanes.
Koalas are even more lazy than cats.
Koalas don’t have much energy and, when not feasting on leaves, they spend their
time dozing in the branches. Believe it or not, they can sleep for up to 18 hours a
day!
Did you know?
Pandas don’t hibernate.
When winter approaches, they head lower down their mountain homes to warmer
temperatures, where they continue to chomp away on bamboo!
There are more kangaroos than humans in Australia.
It is estimated that more than 50 million kangaroos live there. They are Australia’s
national symbol and appear on postage stamps, coins, and airplanes.
Koalas are even more lazy than cats.
Koalas don’t have much energy and, when not feasting on leaves, they spend their
time dozing in the branches. Believe it or not, they can sleep for up to 18 hours a
day!
• FATS
● Fats are just one type of lipid, a category of molecules
united by their inability to mix well with water.
● Fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture
of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in
living beings or in food.
• SOURCES OF FATS
• SOURCES OF FATS
• USES OF FATS
Fat helps give your
1. body energy
2. protects your organs
3. supports cell growth
4. keeps cholesterol and blood pressure under
control, and
5. helps your body absorb vital nutrients
• USES OF FATS
When you focus too much on cutting out all fat,
you can actually deprive your body of what it
needs most.
• OILS
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is
composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is
hydrophobic & lipophilic. Oils are usually
flammable and surface active. Most oils are
unsaturated lipids that are liquid at room
temperature.
• SOURCES OF OILS
Commonly consumed oils are canola, corn,
olive, peanut, safflower, soy, and
sunflower oil.
• SOURCES OF OILS
• SOURCES OF OILS
• USES OF OILS
Just like fats, They provide energy for
living organisms, insulate body organs, and
transport fat-soluble vitamins through the
blood.
Fats & oils make up 95% of the nutritional
lipids, the other 5% are steroids. Waxes are
functional only.
-Fats are solid triglycerides
-Oils are liquid triglycerides
• WAXES
A wax is a simple lipid which
is an ester of a long-chain
alcohol and a fatty acid. The
alcohol may contain from 12-32
carbon atoms. Waxes are found
in nature as coatings on leaves
and stems.
• SOURCES OF WAXES
• PHOSPHOLIPIDS
Phospholipids are major membrane lipids that
consist of lipid bilayers. This basic cellular
structure acts as a barrier to protect the cell
against various environmental insults and
more importantly, enables multiple cellular
processes to occur in subcellular
compartments
• PHOSPHOLIPIDS
• PHOSPHOLIPIDS
• SOURCES OF PHOSPHOLIPIDS
• USES OF PHOSPHOLIPIDS
• Phospholipids help by preventing the
accumulation of fats in the liver. It plays a
major role in the transportation and
removal of cholesterol from the cells. It
forms the structural components of the cell
membrane with the association of proteins.
GLYCOLIPIDS
• This is an editable world map.
• Glycolipids are lipids with a carbohydrate
attached by a glycosidic bond. Their role is to
maintain the stability of the cell membrane and
to facilitate cellular recognition, which is crucial
to the immune response and in the connections
You can double click on the desired country
and change fill color.
that allow cells to connect to one another to
form tissues.
GLYCOLIPIDS
• This is an editable world map.
SOURCES
• This OFworld
is an editable GLYCOLIPIDS
map.
• Glycolipids are structural lipids, which are generally
found on the extracellular face of the eukaryotic
cellular membrane.
• Glycolipids are integral components of animal cell
membranes, composed of a glycan covalently
You can double click on the desired country
linked to a lipid. and change fill color.
• In plants, glycolipids can be found in chloroplast
membranes.
USES
• This is anOF GLYCOLIPIDS
editable world map.
• To maintain stability of the membrane and
to facilitate cell–cell interactions. Glycolipids
can also act as receptors for viruses and
other pathogens to enter cells. You can double click on the desired country
and change fill color.
SOURCES LIPIDS
PROTEINS
Proteins are composed of four
elements, namely: carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and
nitrogen. Sulfur and other
metals are sometimes also
found in proteins. If
carbohydrates are made up of
saccharides, proteins are
made up of amino acids.
There are more than 20 amino acids in nature. Proteins
serve as a catalyst for chemical reactions in cells, this
called enzymes.
NUCLEIC
ACIDS
• Nucleic acids play an essential role in the storage,
transfer, and expression
• of genetic information. Nucleic acid was discovered
by a 24-year old Swiss
• physician named Friedrich Miescher in 1868.
• He was puzzled that an unknown substance in
white blood cells did not resemble carbohydrates,
proteins, or lipids.
• He was able to isolate the substance from the
nucleus and initially called it
• nuclein.
Three parts of nucleotide:
1. Nitrogenous base
2. Five-carbon carbohydrate or sugar
3. Phosphate group
NATURE OF NUCLEIC ACIDS
• Nucleic acid is an important class of
macromolecules found in all cells and
viruses.
• The functions of nucleic acids have to do with
the storage and expression of genetic
information.
• Consists of nucleotides which is composed of
nitrogen – containing compounds
(nitrogenous base), pentose (five - carbon)
sugar and a phosphate group.
• Nucleotides make up the DNA
(Deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (Ribonucleic
acid).
Parts of Nucleotide
• Nitrogenous base
- two classes of nitrogenous bases (pyrimidines and purines)
- pyrimidine are cytosine (C), thymine (T), and Uracil (U)
- purines are adenine (A) and Guanine (G)
- both are attached to a five – carbon sugar(pentose sugar)
Parts of Nucleotide
• Pentose Sugar
- deoxyribose (DNA)
- ribose (RNA)
Parts of Nucleotide
• Phosphate Group
- attached to the fifth
carbon of the pentose ring.
- phosphodiester
bond that bonds two
nucleotides
TYPES OF NUCLEIC ACID
DNA RNA
Consists of two strands of nucleotides composed of Single stranded which looks like a one – half zipper.
sugar, phosphate, and nitrogenous bases that pair RNA is of three major types: mRNA, rRNA and Trna.
through hydrogen bonds.
Sugar is deoxyribose Sugar is ribose
Paired strands form a twisted zipper shape called a Single strand
double helix.
Adenine always bonds with thymine and cytosine Adenine bonds with uracil and cytosine bonds with
bonds with guanine guanine.
Located inside the nucleus Translated to give to proteins
Transcribed (given to messenger RNA) Translated to give the proteins
THE GENETIC CODE
• The arrangement of code words (nucleotide triplet) in DNA is known
as GENETIC CODE.
• It is the sequence of nucleotide bases in nucleic acids which is the
code for amino acids.
EXAMPLE NO. 1
DNA - TAC CAG GGA AGT TTG ATT
mRNA -
tRNA -
Proteins -
EXAMPLE NO. 1
DNA - TAC CAG GGA AGT TTG ATT
mRNA - AUG GUC CCU UCA AAC UAA
tRNA - UAC CAG GGA AGU UUG AUU
Proteins - Tyr Gln Gly Ser Leu Ile
EXAMPLE NO. 2
DNA - TAC ACC TGG CCA TCG CCG ACT
mRNA -
tRNA -
Proteins -
EXAMPLE NO. 2
DNA - TAC ACC TGG CCA TCG CCG ACT
mRNA - AUG UGG ACC GGU AGC GGC UGA
tRNA - UAC ACC UGG CCA UCG CCG ACU
Proteins - Tyr Thr Trp Pro Cys Pro Thr
EXAMPLE NO. 3
DNA - TAT TTT GAA ACG GAC ATT
mRNA -
tRNA -
Proteins -
EXAMPLE NO. 3
DNA - TAT TTT GAA ACG GAC ATT
mRNA - AUA AAA CUU UGC CUG UAA
tRNA - UAU UUU GAA ACG GAC AUU
Proteins - Tyr Phe Glu Thr Asp Ile
