Carbohydrates in plants and animals
Introduction
Carbohydrates or saccharids are essential compounds that can be found in all types of living organisms, they are also classified as the most abundant class of biological cells, after proteins. The name of carbohydrate or carbohydrates, comes from the chemical formula by which they are composed, since they are molecules that have hydrogen, carbon and oxygen.
The basic unity of carbohydrates known as the simplest, is the sugar molecule or monosaccharides, the rest of the carbohydrate classification are made up of monosaccharide molecules. The polymers containing two to four monosaccharid units are named as: disaccharide, trisaccharide and oligosaccharides respectively, and from five units onwards are named as polysaccharides.Many polysaccharides play the role of structural elements on the cell walls of both unicellular, in the upper plants.
Developing
They are constituents of a large percentage of organic matter present on the planet, this is due to the various functions they perform in living beings. Energy the role of carbohydrates in cells is very important, and this can be summarized at the following points:
- First, carbohydrates serve as energy stores to be used later, in addition to fuels and metabolic intermediaries.
- Another point is that two of the sugars, ribose and deoxyribose constitute a fragment of the structural branch of DNA and RNA.
- Then and perhaps the most important point for research issues of this work, polysaccharides are an important part at the structural level of the cell wall of bacteria, plants and the exoskeleton of arthropods.
- Fourth, carbohydrate molecules can join lipids and proteins, with this they give rise to new molecules that seek to act as a lubricant of the skeleton joints, as adherents between the cells and to confer biological specialty throughout the Cell surface in animals.
General wall walls of plants
The cell wall of plants, is known for being a complex and dynamic organization, composed to a greater extent by polysaccharides with high molecular weight, glycosylated proteins and phenolic compounds, such as lignins. This has a direct condition in the rate and the realization of the development of the plant, at cellular levels, morphology and functionality. In addition, it is involved in the recognition of the cells, the interactions between the plant and the pathogens, and by stress resistance.
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The characteristics that make plant cells different, are that they have a cell wall that works as a protection, provides shape and hardness to the structure. In addition, it helps the distribution of components such as water, minerals and other smaller molecules, it has a series of molecules that regulate development and give protection to the plant.
The constitution of said cell wall is a fibrillar or skeleton phase, which is composed of a combined cellulose in an orderly manner by hydrogen bridges, granting crystalline properties; and an amorphous or matrix phase, which consists of hemicellulose, pectin and glycoproteins.
It is said that the cell wall can be divided into three segments: the intercellular substance or also called the middle sheet, the primary wall and finally the secondary wall. The middle sheet or intercellular substance begins as a cell plaque at the time of cell division and is characterized by being amorphous and inactive.
It is formed of plectical compounds, which are given the product of the alliance of several galacturonic acid molecules with Pectic acid and metal ions. The primary wall, which is found in most plant cells, is formed once the cell division process is completed, before the cell totally develops its growth.
The changes that are usually experienced cannot be reversed, this for their association with living protoplasts. The secondary wall develops between the primary wall and the plasma membrane, and this occurs when the cell does not grow anymore and the volume reaches its maximum state.These walls are developed in the form of spatial sequence and their difference is based on how microfibrils are located and the composition of the matrix, in addition some authors indicate that the amorphous matrix dominates in the primary wall, since it is composed of hemicellulose, polysaccharides No cellulosics, but in turn it has a decrease in the 8-25% fibrillar phase.
On the other hand, the fibrillar phase is present in the secondary wall and it consists of cellulose, and the amorphous matrix that contains hemicellulose and lignin.
Cellulose
Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer in nature, and also the main structural element in plants. It is used for its structural properties. Examples of this are: wood for houses, cotton or rayon, paper. Cotton is the purest way in which cellulose can be found, it is the one that contains the longest fibers, so it is usually used to make clothes.
The cellulose is constituted by a series of β-glucose units, this helps to human digestive enzymes to which they cannot attack them, which is why this polysaccharide does not have any type of food interest by the man by the man. It is a substance that has no color, is insoluble in water and in most existing organic solvents. If you want to dissolve, substances such as copper hydroxide (ii) can be used because with it it is possible to form a complex, in addition, in concentrated hydrochloric acid because degradation occurs and as a result products with a low molecular weight are obtained.
The organism of the human being cannot use cellulose as a source of food, because digestive juices do not have the enzymes that hydrolyze the b-glylicosidic links that this compound has. Contrary to this, ruminants if they manage to perform this process, their stomach compartments have microorganisms that hydrolyze cellulose before it reaches the intestine.
It is a biomolecule present on Earth, which is produced not only by plants but also by marine organisms and microorganisms. Represents high economic interest in its function as raw material for the textile and paper industry, but in addition to this being a renewable carbon source. The source from where it comes provides the different physical properties (crystalline state, degree of crystallinity and molecular weight).
Pectin
Thanks to the information provided by (Prava, 2018), it can be said that pectin is a complex mixture of polysaccharides that constitute a third of the dry substance of the cell wall of the plants, in the pastures they are found in much more proportions little.
The highest concentrations of this pectin are usually located in the average lamella of the cell wall, and gradually decrease as one passes the primary wall towards the plasma membrane. It is used as a gelifying, thickening and emulsifying agent in a large number of products, from food to pharmacists.
Pectin is one of the main responsible for the structures of plant products and the viscosity of its juices found in the market. It has fluidity and turbidity characteristics desired by the food sector, which is why this type of industry usually uses it in a wide range of products.
Two kinds of péctic substances can be differentiated, within this group of substances: pectinic acids, which have a small ration of galacturonic acid such as methyl esters, and also peptic acids, which only have not sterified galacturonic acid molecules.Pectic substances are located in most plant tissues and less common in tissues.
Its structure is defined as a complex carbohydrate, which contains galacturonic acid. They are formed by galacturonic acid rings and their amount tends to vary. These rings have a carboxyl group that may or may not be sterified with methanol, or also be neutralized by a basic compound. Its molecular mass ranges between 50,000 and 150,000 Dalton, in Figure 1, a chain that has four acid rings is shown.
Hemicellulose
It is formed by various sugars that form shorter length chains compared to cellulose, it also has a series of ramifications. The sugars that compose it are divided into: pentous, hexosous, hexuronic acids and deoxyhexous. Its content is very different from one species to another, both for its variety and its quantity.
Hemicellulous are divided into four kinds of molecules, which vary in their distribution patterns and in their location, they are: xylans, d-manoglycans, B-Glucanos and Xiloglucanos. Its function depends largely on the composition of the plant species, but the main ones are biological type.Because they are membrane polysaccharides, they are synthesized by activated nucleotide sugars, they are used by glycosyltransferaese enzymes that come from the Golgi complex and are responsible for the links between monomers and the polymer that you want to synthesize synthesize.
Carbohydrates in animal production
These components are the main source of energy in ruminants, they play a primary role as sugar and fat precursors. The microorganisms that can be found in the rumen allow energy to be obtained from carbohydrates with a high fiber content such as cellulose and hemicellulose, these are located together with lignin in the cell wall of plants.
The fiber has a fairly high volume, and manages to retain in the animal rumen that is the point where cellulose and hemicellulose manage. During the plant maturation process, the fiber content rises by the lignin content that has a product of this is reduced by the fermentation level of these two components in the animal rumen.
When the animal does not have enough fiber in its body, consequences such as disorders in digestion, displacement of the abomaso (last compartment of the cow stomach) and acidosis in the rumen. In ruminant animals, the consumption of structural carbohydrates is very important, these are essential in the anatomical development of the animal and in the rummy process. The degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose depends on a series of factors within which they are located: the species of the fodder, maturity of the fodder, year, geographical area, climate and the agronomic practices that were used for their production.
These animals must consume the necessary amount of fiber for a correct stimulation of rummy and salivation, the only way to achieve this is by implementing a feeding system that combines in the appropriate proportions the ration of forages and concentrate that the diet requires. In countries such as Europe and the United Kingdom, the feeding of animals with plant origin was chosen with a high structural carbohydrate content, this because the health authorities of those countries prohibited the supply of food with content of meat flour and bone or other by -products of animal origin.
This decision was made after it was found that the consumption of this type of food is strongly linked to the appearance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, since due to the high demand for animal feed used sheep housings for the production of the aforementioned flours, And in some cases they came from dead sheep due to Scrapie, a neurodegenerative disease that affects this type of animals.
conclusion
The basic unity of carbohydrates known as the simplest, is the sugar molecule or monosaccharides, the rest of the carbohydrate classification are made up of monosaccharide molecules. The polymers containing two to four monosaccharid units are named as: disaccharide, trisaccharide and oligosaccharides respectively, and from five units onwards are named as polysaccharides.Many polysaccharides play the role of structural elements on the cell walls of both unicellular, in the upper plants.
The polysaccharides are formed by a union of a large group of monosaccharides, can be subdivided into two groups; Homopolysaccharides and heteropolysaccharides, this will depend on the variations in terms of the monosaccharid units that constitute them, for the purposes of this project, cellulose (homopolysaccharides), the hemicellulose (heteropolysaccharide) and the pectin (heteropolysaccharide), since they form these form), since they form In plants part of its cell wall.
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