BIOL 2021 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Amylose, Anomer, Amylopectin
Document Summary
Polysaccharides: two main functions, energy storage, structure. C1 anomeric carbon: forms a coiled, relatively compact helical structure (~6 glucoses/turn) Structure of the main backbone of amylose, amylopectin and glycogen. One turn of the helix has six glucose units: amylopectin. Main backbone is amylose (linear) with d-glucose molecules in (1 4) linkage. Also has branches: connect to backbone and to each other by (1 6) linkages. Amylose [ (1 4) linked glucose] is degraded by enzymes called amylases in the mouth and intestine to yield maltose and glucose. Acid in your stomach also helps break down linkages. Maltose (diglucose) is further degraded to 2 glucoses by maltase in the intestine. All glucose is then absorbed by the body and used to make cellular energy. Additional enzymes are needed to hydrolyze the (1 6) linkages between glucoses at the branches called a debranching enzyme.
