In this video, we're going to begin talking about some of the most common types of monosaccharides. So, you'll notice listed on this entire page, we have some of the most common monosaccharides in nature grouped as being aldoses and ketoses and based on how many carbon atoms they have. And so really this page is just meant to be a reference page to help you guys out as you move forward through our course. And it's important to note that the monosaccharides that your professors might expect you to memorize may vary from course to course. However, if your professor does want you to memorize any monosaccharides, the likelihood is that they're somewhere on this page and so, again, it's just meant to be a reference page to help you out. And what you'll notice for the aldoses, what we have listed are D-glyceraldehyde, D-erythrose, D-ribose, D-arabinose, D-xylose, D-glucose, D-mannose, and D-galactose. And for the ketoses listed below, what we have are dihydroxyacetone or DHA, D-erythrulose, D-ribulose, D-xylulose, and D-fructose. And so again, this page is only meant to be a reference page to help you out as you move along through the course. In our next video, I'll give you a recommendation of which amino acids I would recommend committing to memory. So, I'll see you in that next video.
- 1. Introduction to Biochemistry4h 34m
- What is Biochemistry?5m
- Characteristics of Life12m
- Abiogenesis13m
- Nucleic Acids16m
- Proteins12m
- Carbohydrates8m
- Lipids10m
- Taxonomy10m
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- 2. Water3h 23m
- 3. Amino Acids8h 10m
- Amino Acid Groups8m
- Amino Acid Three Letter Code13m
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- Amino Acid Configuration20m
- Essential Amino Acids14m
- Nonpolar Amino Acids21m
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- How to Memorize Amino Acids1h 7m
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- Non-Ionizable Vs. Ionizable R-Groups11m
- Isoelectric Point10m
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- 4. Protein Structure10h 4m
- Peptide Bond18m
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- Altering Primary Protein Structure15m
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- Tertiary Structure of Protein16m
- Protein Motifs and Domains23m
- Denaturation14m
- Anfinsen Experiment20m
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- Concerted (MWC) Model25m
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- Introduction to Protein-Ligand Interactions15m
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- 9. Carbohydrates7h 49m
- Carbohydrates19m
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- Introduction to Biosignaling44m
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- Insulin28m
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- Insulin Signaling on Glucose Metabolism57m
- Recap Of Insulin Signaling in Glucose Metabolism6m
- Insulin Signaling as a Growth Factor1h 1m
- Recap of Insulin Signaling As A Growth Factor9m
- Recap of Insulin Signaling1m
- Jak-Stat Signaling25m
- Lipid Hormone Signaling15m
- Summary of Biosignaling13m
- Signaling Defects & Cancer20m
- Review 1: Nucleic Acids, Lipids, & Membranes2h 47m
- Nucleic Acids 19m
- Nucleic Acids 211m
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- Practice - Nucleic Acids 111m
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- Lipids11m
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- Review 2: Biosignaling, Glycolysis, Gluconeogenesis, & PP-Pathway3h 12m
- Biosignaling 19m
- Biosignaling 219m
- Biosignaling 311m
- Biosignaling 49m
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- Pentose Phosphate Pathway15m
- Practice - Biosignaling13m
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- Practice - Pentose Phosphate Path6m
- Review 3: Pyruvate & Fatty Acid Oxidation, Citric Acid Cycle, & Glycogen Metabolism2h 26m
- Pyruvate Oxidation9m
- Citric Acid Cycle 114m
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- Citric Acid Cycle 37m
- Citric Acid Cycle 411m
- Metabolic Regulation 18m
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- Glycogen Metabolism 16m
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- Fatty Acid Oxidation 111m
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- Citric Acid Cycle Practice 17m
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- Glucose and Glycogen Regulation Practice 14m
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- Fatty Acid Oxidation Practice 14m
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- Review 4: Amino Acid Oxidation, Oxidative Phosphorylation, & Photophosphorylation1h 48m
- Amino Acid Oxidation 15m
- Amino Acid Oxidation 211m
- Oxidative Phosphorylation 18m
- Oxidative Phosphorylation 210m
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- Photophosphorylation 15m
- Photophosphorylation 29m
- Photophosphorylation 310m
- Practice: Amino Acid Oxidation 12m
- Practice: Amino Acid Oxidation 22m
- Practice: Oxidative Phosphorylation 15m
- Practice: Oxidative Phosphorylation 24m
- Practice: Oxidative Phosphorylation 35m
- Practice: Photophosphorylation 15m
- Practice: Photophosphorylation 21m
Common Monosaccharides - Online Tutor, Practice Problems & Exam Prep
Monosaccharides, categorized as aldoses or ketoses, are essential in biochemistry. Key examples include D-glucose, D-mannose, and D-galactose, each with distinct configurations. D-glucose, an aldohexose, serves as a reference for memorizing other hexoses. The conversion from linear Fischer projections to cyclic Haworth projections involves understanding the positioning of hydroxyl groups based on their orientation. This knowledge is crucial for grasping carbohydrate structures and their functions in metabolic pathways, including catabolic and anabolic reactions.
Common Monosaccharides
Video transcript
Common Monosaccharides
Video transcript
So in this video, we're going to talk about some monosaccharide structures that might be worth memorizing. It's important to note that the monosaccharide structures worth memorizing will vary from course to course and from professor to professor. Some professors might not expect you to memorize any monosaccharides at all, whereas others might expect you to memorize these six monosaccharides and some additional ones. However, these six monosaccharides shown down below are definitely some of the common ones. If your professor does want you to memorize any monosaccharide structures, the likelihood is that they're going to include these six monosaccharides. We're going to do our part here at Clutch Prep and help you guys with memorizing these six monosaccharides. It's important to note that these six monosaccharides are all in their linear forms and they all have the D-configuration, which is really no surprise, since we know that life has a preference for the D-configuration of monosaccharides.
Alright, so let's get started with this monosaccharide way over here on the left-hand side. It turns out that this monosaccharide is actually the most common and the most abundant monosaccharide in all of nature. We've actually already talked a lot about this monosaccharide in our previous lesson videos and moving forward, we're going to continue to talk a lot about this monosaccharide. If you haven't already guessed it, this is the monosaccharide D-glucose. D-glucose is an aldohexose, which means that it has an aldehyde group and it has a total of six carbon atoms. If we wanted to number these carbon atoms, of course, we know that the carbon atom that's part of this aldehyde group at the top must be assigned the lowest possible number, which means that this carbon atom is going to be carbon number 1, and then we can sequentially number all of the other carbon atoms from top to bottom. Notice that carbons 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all chiral carbons, and the alcohol groups on these chiral carbons are taking the pattern that we see here. The C2 alcohol group is going to the right with a D-configuration. The C3 alcohol group is going to the left with an L-configuration, and the C4 and C5 alcohol groups are both going to the right with D-configurations. Glucose's alcohol groups end up taking the pattern that we see right here. Now, wait a second. It kind of looks like D-glucose might be trying to tell me something here with this pattern of alcohol groups. It kind of looks like it's trying to give me the finger. Now as much as I don't appreciate that, you've got to recognize this pattern here when you see it. And at the very least, there is quite a resemblance between these two images right here. And so, as unfortunate as it might be, thinking about somebody flicking someone off might actually help you guys with memorizing glucose's structure.
So memorizing glucose's structure is going to be important because we're actually going to use glucose as a reference for memorizing the other hexoses on this page. And so the next monosaccharide that we have here is actually D-mannose. D-Mannose is another aldohexose that's going to be numbered in the same exact way as glucose. What helps me remember D-mannose's structure is that it's actually spelled with two 'n's. This helps me remember that it's actually going to be the C2 epimer of glucose. Referring back to the structure, this means that everything in D-mannose's structure is going to be identical to glucose, from the C3 carbon down. That means its C3 hydroxyl is still pointing to the left, and its C4 and C5 hydroxyls are still pointing to the right. The only thing that's going to differ is that it's the C2 epimer. Its C2 hydroxyl, instead of pointing to the right, like it did with glucose, is going to be pointing to the left. We can go ahead and fill that in, and really, that's it for the structure of mannose.
The next hexose we have here is actually the structure of D-galactose. D-galactose is another aldohexose that's going to be numbered again in the same exact way as glucose and mannose. What helps me remember D-galactose's structure is that it's actually got these four vowels in it. This reminds me that this is going to be the C4 epimer of glucose. Another way to help you remember D-galactose's structure is that D-galactose kind of sounds like a galactic ship, a rocket ship. Those of you that play Call of Duty know that C4s are explosives. You could think that the C4 is the explosive that allows the galactic rocket ship to take off. Hopefully, that'll help you guys remember that galactose is the C4 epimer of glucose. What that means is that everything else is going to be identical to glucose except for the C4. The C5 hydroxyl is still going to the right, the C3 hydroxyl is still going to the left, and the C2 hydroxyl is still going to the right. The only_difference is the C4 epimer. Instead of going to the right hand side as it did for glucose, it's going to be going to the left hand side, and really, that's it for the structure of galactose.
The next monosaccharide that we have here is D-fructose. D-fructose is actually a ketohexose, which means that it has a ketone group instead of an aldehyde group at the top, but it's still going to be numbered from top to bottom here on this page since that's what allows the ketone group to be assigned the lowest possible number. What helps me remember D-fructose is that it's really the only ketone on this entire page. This helps me remember that it's going to be the ketose form
Common Monosaccharides
Video transcript
Alright. So now that we've talked about how to memorize the linear forms of the most common monosaccharides, in this video we're going to talk about how we can use those linear forms of the sugars to derive their cyclic forms. And so notice down below, we have all of the Haworth projections for each of the 6 sugars that we talked about in our last lesson video. And so really the skill of converting a Fischer projection for a linear monosaccharide into the Haworth projection of a cyclic monosaccharide is a skill that we already talked about before in our previous lesson videos. And so recall that we only need to remember the 2 words, "up, lifting," and "down, right." And so recall that all of the chemical groups pointing to the left of a Fischer projection end up pointing upwards in the Haworth projection. And all of the chemical groups pointing to the right of a Fischer projection end up pointing downwards in the Haworth projection. And so this ends up being the key that allows us to use the linear forms of the sugars from our last lesson video to derive their cyclic forms in this lesson video.
Another helpful tool is actually to number all of the carbon atoms so that we can keep track of those carbon atoms easier. Now in our last lesson video, we already numbered all of the carbon atoms of the linear form. So all we need to do is number the carbon atoms of the cyclic forms down below, which means that we want to assign the lowest possible number to the anomeric carbon. And so I'll go ahead and help you guys out For all of the sugars on this page. The anomeric carbon is the carbon atom that's furthest to the right on the Haworth projection. So we're circling all of the anomeric carbons and then we want to assign the lowest possible number. So for this sugar up here, it will be number 1. For this sugar over here, it will be number 1. This one here will also be number 1. But notice that for this sugar over here, we cannot assign it number 1 because that would be skipping out on this carbon atom up above. And so instead, we give this carbon atom up above number 1 and this carbon atom right here number 2, which allows it to be assigned the lowest possible number. And then for this sugar and this sugar down below, both anomeric carbons will be assigned number 1. And then of course, the highest numbered carbon is going to be pointing upwards in all of these sugars that we see here. And, notice that this sugar and this sugar down below only have a total of 5 carbon atoms. So the highest numbered carbon will be assigned number 5.
Now, let's begin derived the first two cyclic sugars using the linear forms of the sugars up above. And then we're going to pause the video and allow you guys to attempt deriving the rest of the sugars before we give you the answers. And so we're starting off with beta-D-glucopyranose over here. The first thing that you see is the beta, which is referring to the configuration of the anomeric carbon. And because the bumps of the beta are on the same side, that reminds us that the highest numbered carbon and the alcohol group of the anomeric are going to be pointing to the same side of the Haworth projection. And so that means that we expect the alcohol group to be pointing upwards here at this position. And then we can go ahead and number all of the other carbon atoms going around here. And so we want to focus on carbons 2, 3, and 4 here. And notice that the glucose prefix here is telling us that this sugar is derived from glucose. And so if we took a look up, at the structure of glucose from our previous lesson video over here, notice that the C-2 and C-4 hydroxyls are going to the right, whereas the C-3 hydroxyl is going to the left. And so in terms of up, lifting, and down, right, this translates to down, down, up, down. For C-2, C-3, and C-4. So, down, is here, and then up is here, and down is over here. And so this is where we expect the hydroxyls to go. So for C-2, we expect the hydroxyl to be going down, and C-4, we expect the hydroxyl to be going down, and then for the C-3, we expect the hydroxyl to be going up. And then all we have to do is fill in the hydrogens at all of these other positions, and really that is it. This is the structure here of beta-D-glucopyranose. And, really, you can see that the key was just using these two words, up, lifting and down right.
Now, let's move on to the next sugar here, alpha-D-mannopyranose. And then the first thing that you see here is the alpha configuration, which is the configuration of the anomeric carbon. And the alpha reminds us that it's going to be pointing down to the ants, and so we know that the alcohol group on the anomeric carbon is going to be going in the opposite direction reaching down for the ants. And so, we can go ahead and put the alcohol group right here. And then going ahead and, numbering all of the carbon atoms here, we can see that we're going to be paying attention to carbons 2, 3, and 4. And because the prefix manno is in here, that tells us that this sugar is derived from mannose. And so if we go up to the structure of mannose from our previous lesson video, right here, you'll notice that the C-2 and C-3 are both pointing to the left, whereas the C-4 hydroxyl is pointing to the right. And so in terms of uplifting and downright, this translates to up, up, down, for C-2, C-3, and C-4. So, up, up, down would be up here, up, here, and then down for C-4 and then all we have to do is fill in the hydroxyls, so we have OH here, OH here, and then an OH going down over here and then all we need to do is fill in all of the hydrogens at these empty positions. And that is the structure of alpha-D-mannopyranose right here. And so at this point, what we're going to do is allow you guys to pause the video and go ahead and give an attempt at deriving these cyclic sugars using the linear forms and using this key right here. So, we'll assume that you guys have paused the video and given it a try. And so, really, the answer to that is right here. And so, what you'll notice is that, all of these have alpha configuration, which means that the anomeric carbon is going to have their hydroxyl groups pointing downwards. And then, of course, all we have to do is use the up, lifting, and down right to derive the positions of the other hydroxyl groups. And so this here concludes our video on how to use the linear forms of the sugars to derive their cyclic forms. And so really, if you're able to commit these 6 sugars from our last lesson video to memory, then you're able to memorize a total of 12 sugars because you'll be able to get the cyclic forms, no problem. And so that concludes this video, and we'll be able to get some practice in our next video. So I'll see you guys there.
The sugar α-D-Mannose is a sweet-tasting sugar. β-D-Mannose, on the other hand, tastes bitter. A pure solution of α-D-mannose loses its sweet taste with time as it is converted into the β anomer. Draw the β anomer:
Problem Transcript
Draw the α-furanose and β-pyranose forms of D-ribose.
Problem Transcript
Indicate if the following pairs of sugars are enantiomers, anomers, epimers, or an aldose-ketose pair:
a) α-D-galactopyranose and β-D-galactopyranose. ____________________
b) D-glucose and D-mannose. ____________________
c) D-glucose and D-fructose. ____________________
d) α-D-glucopyranose and β-D-glucopyranose. ____________________
e) D-galactose and D-glucose. ____________________
f) α-D-mannopyranose and α-L-mannopyranose. ____________________
Problem Transcript
Here’s what students ask on this topic:
What are the most common monosaccharides in nature?
The most common monosaccharides in nature include D-glucose, D-mannose, D-galactose, D-fructose, D-ribose, and D-deoxyribose. D-glucose is the most abundant and serves as a reference for memorizing other hexoses. These monosaccharides are categorized as aldoses or ketoses based on their functional groups. Aldoses like D-glucose and D-mannose have an aldehyde group, while ketoses like D-fructose have a ketone group. Understanding these common monosaccharides is crucial for studying carbohydrate structures and their roles in metabolic pathways.
How do you convert a Fischer projection to a Haworth projection?
To convert a Fischer projection to a Haworth projection, follow these steps: 1) Identify the anomeric carbon, which is the carbonyl carbon in the linear form. 2) Number the carbon atoms, ensuring the anomeric carbon gets the lowest possible number. 3) Use the rule 'up, lefting, and down, right' to determine the orientation of hydroxyl groups. Groups on the left in the Fischer projection point upwards in the Haworth projection, while groups on the right point downwards. This method helps visualize the cyclic form of monosaccharides, essential for understanding their biochemical functions.
What is the difference between aldoses and ketoses?
Aldoses and ketoses are types of monosaccharides differentiated by their functional groups. Aldoses contain an aldehyde group (-CHO) at the end of the carbon chain, while ketoses have a ketone group (C=O) typically at the second carbon atom. For example, D-glucose is an aldohexose with an aldehyde group, whereas D-fructose is a ketohexose with a ketone group. This distinction is crucial for understanding their chemical behavior and roles in metabolic pathways.
Why is D-glucose considered the most important monosaccharide?
D-glucose is considered the most important monosaccharide because it is the primary energy source for cells in most organisms. It is an aldohexose, meaning it has six carbon atoms and an aldehyde group. D-glucose is central to metabolic pathways such as glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, where it is broken down to produce ATP, the energy currency of the cell. Additionally, D-glucose serves as a building block for more complex carbohydrates like starch and glycogen.
What are the key differences between D-glucose, D-mannose, and D-galactose?
D-glucose, D-mannose, and D-galactose are all aldohexoses, but they differ in the configuration of their hydroxyl groups. D-glucose has hydroxyl groups on carbons 2, 4, and 5 pointing to the right, and on carbon 3 pointing to the left. D-mannose is the C2 epimer of glucose, with the hydroxyl group on carbon 2 pointing to the left. D-galactose is the C4 epimer of glucose, with the hydroxyl group on carbon 4 pointing to the left. These differences affect their biochemical properties and roles in metabolism.