3.0 Animal Molecules

2026-04-21 06:08

Status: #new

Ingested food need to be broken into basic macromolecules before they are absorbed
After being broken down, they must be transported from the digestive system
Then the waste needs to be removed
There are four types of macromolecules: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins and "Other"

Simple Carbohydrates - Sugars/Saccharides
- Important. source of easily accessible energy
- Empirical Formula is
- (Glucose, Fructose, Sucroses)
Complex Carbohydrates - Starches
- Long Polysaccharide chains that store simple sugars for energy to accessed. (Glycogen, Amylopectin, Amylose)

Molecules that provide:
Long term energy storage, organ cushioning and insulation
Animal fats are typically solid at room temperature
Plant fats (oils) tend to be liquid at room temperature
Saturated fat (As complete as can be, with every carbon "saturated" with hydrogen, meaning no carbon bonds)
- Solid due to rigid shape and structure when stuck together
Unsaturated fat - Has a double bond, makes molecules bend
- Also known as seed-oils
Blood Clumping
- Fat can sit in clumps in the blood vessels
- Saturated and trans-unsaturated fat is bad due to clumping

All cell membranes have a bilayer of phospholipids
- Contains a polar head (hydrophilic) and a non-polar tail (hydrophobic)
In all cell membrane types (nuclear, cell etc.)
Do not have a rigid configuration
- Instead are selectively permeable. Some chemicals can and can't come in.
Important for long-term storage.

Used for: Structure, Metabolism (as enzymes), immunological protection and molecular transport
All proteins are long chains of amino acids
- Amino acids are connected into long chains which fold into protein structures
22 types of amino acids
Enzymes are important proteins responsible for catalyzing chemical reactions
Carbohydrase are enzymes that catalyze carbohydrates
Proteases catalyze proteins
Lipases catalyze lipids
Nucleases catalyze nucleic acids.

Organic compounds
Classified as:
- Water Soluble - Extra molecules are easily excreted from the system
- Fat soluble - Collects on adipose (fat) tissue
Water soluble vitamins should be consumed regularly as they are easily excreted
- Fat solubles are harder to get rid of

References