Glycogen, Starch and Inulin are storage polysaccharides. 1) Glycogen  Glycogen is a readily mobilized storage form of glucose. It is a very large, branched polymer of glucose residues (Figure-1) that can be broken down to yield glucose molecules when energy is needed. Most of the glucose residues in glycogen are linked by α-1,4-glycosidic bonds. Branches at […]

Representation of the ring structure of monosaccharides The ring structures of monosaccharides can be represented as follows : 1) Fischer projection The acyclic structure of a sugar is commonly shown by using a Fischer projection. A Fischer projection is sometimes used to illustrate the cyclic hemiacetal form of sugar. The presence of an aldehyde group and

Isomerism in monosaccharides The monosaccharides having asymmetric carbon atoms exhibit isomerism. Asymmetric carbon atom- It is the carbon atom that is attached to four different groups (Figure-1) Figure-1- An asymmetric carbon atom with 4 different attachments All monosaccharides except- Dihydroxyacetone, have asymmetric carbon atoms (Figure-2) Figure-2- Glyceraldehyde has an asymmetric carbon atom whereas dihydroxyacetone lacks, thus