Introduction to Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates (saccharides) are the most abundant organic molecules in nature. They have a wide range of functions, including providing a significant fraction of the dietary calories for most organisms, acting as a storage form of energy in the body, and serving as cell membrane components that mediate some forms of intercellular communication. Carbohydrates also serve as a structural component of many organisms, including the cell walls of bacteria, the exoskeleton of insects, and the fibrous cellulose of plants. [Note: The full set of carbohydrates produced by an organism is its glycome.] The empiric formula for many of the simpler carbohydrates is (CH₂O)n, where n ≥3, hence the name “hydrate of carbon.”