Organic Compounds

The term organic compound refers to molecules that contain both carbon

and hydrogen, which means that molecules such as oxygen, water, and

carbon dioxide are inorganic. Although living things require water to perform

their life functions, and most also require oxygen, these molecules can be

generated without the involvement of living things.

The molecules that form a more permanent part of living cells all have a

carbon “backbone.” This abundance of carbon in organic compounds is why

scientists call life on earth carbon based. Each carbon atom can form up to
four bonds with other atoms. Hydrocarbon molecules (organic molecules

containing only carbon and hydrogen) come in an enormous range of sizes

and shapes, including open-ended chains and closed, loop-like “rings.”

In addition to carbon and hydrogen, many organic molecules contain other

elements, the most important of which are oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and

sulfur. You may recall from earlier studies that normal air is about 20% oxygen

and 78% nitrogen, so it is not surprising that many organic molecules contain

these two elements.

Living cells make and use a variety of organic molecules, such as glucose (a
sugar). The cells of plants and some other organisms manufacture glucose

through the process of photosynthesis summarized in this equation.

6CO2 +6H2O  6O2 +C6H12O6

Both plants and animals use glucose as a food from which they obtain

energy.

In this chapter, you will explore only the principal organic molecules

contained in carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, as well as the nucleic acids.

That makes up the DNA in chromosomes. Everyday foods such as corn,

pasta, potatoes and bread contain these molecules. All of these organic
compounds are very large molecules, or macromolecules (macro means

large), composed of smaller subunits.

The Structure and Biological Functions of Carbohydrates

Very interested in the food produced by plants, early scientist’s chemically

analyzed sugars and starches. They discovered that these compounds always

contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen – almost always in the same

proportion: two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen for every atom of

carbon, or CH2O. Since the formula for water is H2O, the scientists concluded

that sugars and starches consist of carbons with water attached to them, or
carbohydrates (hydro means water). Carbohydrates provide short – or longer-

tern energy storage for living organisms.

A carbohydrate molecule with three to seven carbon atoms (and the

corresponding number of hydrogen and oxygen atoms) is called a

monosaccharide. Or simple sugar (mono means one: sakkharon means

sugar).

A disaccharide, or double sugar, is made up of two simple sugars (di means

two).Two glucose units’ link together to form one molecule of the disaccharide

maltose. You may be more familiar with another disaccharide, sucrose, which
is made by joining glucose with fructose. Sucrose is in many food products,

from brownies to barbeque sauce.

A polysaccharide is a complex carbohydrate consisting of many simple

sugars linked together (poly means many). This is apparent in starch,

glycogen, and cellulose. Starch performs the important function of energy

storage in plants. Glycogen performs the same functions in animals. Compare

the structures of the starch and glycogen molecules, and note the many

“branches” on the glycogen molecule. The larger amount of branching in

glycogen means that glycogen molecules pack more glucose units into a
single cell than do starch molecules.

Plants produce even larger polysaccharide macromolecules called cellulose,

out of which they build their cell walls. Cellulose is considered a structural

molecule because it protects individual cells and provides support for the while

plants. As a polysaccharide made up of glucose units, cellulose also stores a

great deal of energy. However, only a few bacterial species produce the

digestive chemicals needed to break cellulose down into glucose units and

release energy. So to obtain nourishment from grass, leaves, wood, and other

cellulose-rich plant materials – animals such as cattle, rabbits, and termites

must host these bacteria in their guts. The human gut does not host these

bacteria, so the food energy in cellulose is not directly accessible to us.

The Structure and Biological Function of lipids

Lipids are a diverse group of macromolecules that have one important

feature in common: they do not dissolve in water. Living organisms use lipids

for many purposes: long-term nutrient and energy storage, insulation,

cushioning of internal organs, and hormones to send messages around the

body. Lipids are also the primary structural component of the cell membrane of

every cell.
 The lipid with which you are likely most familiar is fat. Fats include not ony

substances such as butter but also oils such as canola oil. Whether in solid or

liquid form, one gram of lipid contains 2.25 times as much energy as one gram

of carbohydrate.

All fat molecules have the same basic three branched structure. The

structure forms in a chemical reaction involving one molecule of an alcohol

called glycerol and three molecules of fatty acid. Another name for this

structure is a triglyceride.

A fatty acid is a hydrocarbon chain with a difference: at one end, the carbon
has an acidic – COOH group instead of hydrogen attached to it. It is this acidic

group of a fatty acid that attaches to one of the three main reaction sites on a

glycerol molecule. This triglyceride produced is nonpolar. This means that it

will not be attracted to (polar) water molecules. Which is why fat is insoluble in

water.

Glycerol always has the same composition; not so for the three fatty acids,

which may be identical or nonidentical, short or long, saturated or unsaturated.

In the hydrocarbon chain of a saturated fatty acid, each of the carbon atoms

beyond the one bonded to oxygen is bonded to four other atoms. An

unsaturated fatty acid has bonding sites (double bonds) where additional

hydrogen atoms can be attached.

If unsaturated fatty acids dominate, the resulting fat will likely be liquid at

room temperature. If saturated fatty acids dominate, the resulting fat will likely

be solid at room temperature.

The Structure and Biological Function of Proteins

Most cellular structures are made of various types of protein. Protein also

serves many other functions in cells. In fact, they display greater structural

complexity and functional diversity than either lipids or carbohydrates.

 Your hair and fingernails are both made of the same type of protein, keratin,

yet each has its own distinctive properties. The bones and muscles inside your

hand and the ligaments and tendons connecting them also contain distinctly

different proteins. Without these proteins, you would not be able to move your

hand.

In addition to their structural functions, proteins also

 Function as enzyme to facilitate chemical reactions (the enzyme amylase in

your saliva begin the breakdown of starches into simple sugars while you

chew)
 Help transport substances across cell membranes or to different parts of an

organism. (the hemoglobin in your blood transports oxygen from your hung

to each cell in your body)

 Act as chemical messengers (some hormones are proteins rather than

lipids, such as the insulin that helps to regulate the amount of glucose

available to cells)

Like other macromolecules, proteins are assembled from small units. In

proteins, the building blocks are amino acid molecules.

A chemical linkage called the peptide bond joins individual amino acids
together. However a chain of amino acids is not yet a protein, only a

polypeptide.

If a protein molecule is exposed to extreme temperature, extreme pH

conditions (very acidic or very basic), or harsh chemicals, it will unfold or

change shape. When this happens, the protein is said to have been

denatured. The protein loses its ability to perform its normal function.

Why can some proteins such as enzymes or hemoglobin functions in a

water solution while others (such as the keratin in your fingernails) are

usually insoluble in water? This depends on how the polypeptide(s) making

up a protein are twisted and folded.

Humans need 20 amino acids – known as the common amino acids – to

make the protein macromolecules required for healthy body structure and

functions. Your body can manufacture 12 of these amino acids from non

protein food sources. The other eight must be present in your food because

your body cannot manufacture them for itself. These eight are referred to as

essential amino acids.

With 20 different amino acids to combine, proteins exist in thousands of

distinctly different forms. Each kind of organism manufactures its own

characteristics proteins common to a number of species, such as

hemoglobin. Indeed, it is our protein that makes us different from ants,

amoebas, or ash trees.