Biochemistry
By Cody, Riley, and Sasha.
Outline
• Biochemistry is the study of life, and its
chemical composition. The most common
elements are Carbon, Oxygen, and Hydrogen,
also with Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur.
Every part of every living thing has to do with
Biochemistry. It is very important when
dealing with medicine, nutrition, and genetics.
Water
• All life on Earth is
dependant on water. It is
the most abundant
compound known to man. It
is polar, and as such it is a
universal solvent. It floats
when frozen, insulating
marine animals below the
surface. It has a very high
heat capacity. It is also
liquid at room temperature.
Different organisms have
different amounts of it, but
it is important to all of
them.
Essential Nutrients
• Non-essential nutrients: • Essential Nutrients
• Produced by the body • Not made by the body
• Is not needed to be • Required in food
taken in • Ex. Water,
• Ex. Cholesterol Carbohydrates
• There are also 9
essential amino acids
needed to survive.
Carbohydrates
• Contains Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen.
Some examples are sugars and starches.
Glucose is the most important of these.
• There are 3 types: Monosaccharides,
Disaccharides, and Polysaccharides, in
increasing order of complexity.
• Carbohydrates are the body’s key source of
energy.
Carbohydrates Continued
• The C,H,O are always in a 1:2:1 ratio.
• Simpler sugars are converted into complex
ones via Dehydration Synthesis. This is the loss
of water to create new bonds.
• Hydrolysis is the opposite. It is the addition of
water to simplify complex carbohydrates.
• Both of these reactions are needed by the
body for various tasks.
Blood Sugar
• An overabundance of glucose in the blood will
cause a different protein, insulin, to be
released into the blood. This will cause the
glucose to be changed to glycogen, creating a
lower glucose level. This can later be changed
back into glucose for later use.
Lipids
• Lipids (Fats) are made of the same elements
as carbohydrates, but have different ratios. C
and H outnumber O. It is insoluble in water.
They are very important in building
membranes and blood clotting. They also
protect and insulate vital organs. Like essential
nutrients, there also essential fatty acids not
made by the body. An example of these is
Linoleic Acid.
Proteins
• Made of amino acids, proteins contain
C,O,H,N, and occasionally S. Dietary proteins
build and repair all tissue in the body.
• Proteins can also regulate many body
processes, as enzymes, hormones, or
antibodies.
• Proteins can be used for energy in a worst-
case scenario, but they are not as efficient as
carbohydrates or fats.
Proteins continued
• Complete protein • Proteins should only
sources are foods that take up roughly 10 to
have all essential amino 15% of the calories in
acids. Some examples someone’s diet,
of these can be fish, because:
poultry, eggs, etc. • They are difficult to
Similarly, incomplete break down
protein sources have • Your body does not
some, but not all require proteins in
essential amino acids. excess.
Protein Structure (1)
Primary Structure Secondary Structure
Protein Structure (2)
Tertiary Structure Quaternary Structure
Animated Protein Folding
This animated .gif shows how
polypeptide chains fold over each
other to create functional proteins.
These proteins (now tertiary or
quaternary) are held together by many
weak hydrogen bonds.
Some proteins are functional at the
tertiary level, but most are complex
proteins functional only at the
quaternary stage.
The reddish purple spirals in this
animation are alpha-helix coils. The
flat yellow rectangles are beta-pleated
sheets.
Vitamins and Minerals
• Vitamins are needed in very small amounts,
therefore they are known as micronutrients.
They regulate body processes and work with
enzymes to cause and catalyze reactions.
Vitamins can either be fat-soluble or water-
soluble. This determines how they are
stored/carried in the blood. Minerals are very
closely related to vitamins, however minerals
are inorganic.
Enzymes
• Most enzymes are proteins.
• They catalyze many reactions in the body, on
substrates taken in to the active site.
• Substrates are compounds such as lactose,
which is broken up into glucose and galactose.
• The active site of an enzyme is where all of it’s
reactions take place.
Enzyme models
Lock and Key Induced Fit
• The lock and key model is • The induced fit model
when the enzyme is only suggests that enzymes are
shaped to take in one not always completely
substrate, and does not compatible, but can change
conform. their shape slightly to fit.
Bibliography
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid
• http://z.about.com/d/chemistry/1/0/U/a/water.jpg
• http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Peptide.
gif
• http://kvhs.nbed.nb.ca/gallant/biology/secondary_structure.jpg
• http://kvhs.nbed.nb.ca/gallant/biology/tertiary_structure.jpg
• http://kvhs.nbed.nb.ca/gallant/biology/quaternary_structure.jpg
• www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/d.jones/t42morph.html
• http://waynesword.palomar.edu/images/enzyme5.gif
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Ind
uced_fit_diagram.svg/648px-Induced_fit_diagram.svg.png