Carbohydrate

Synonym of saccharide in biochemistry.

Carbohydrates are a class of biomolecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
They come in different forms, including:

1. Monosaccharides - simple sugars

   • Glucose (dextrose)
   • Fructose
   • Galactose

2. Disaccharides - compound sugars

   • Sucrose (table sugar)
     • Glucose + Fructose
   • Lactose (milk sugar)
     • Glucose + Galactose
   • Maltose (malt sugar)
     • 2 x Glucose

3. Polysaccharides - complex carbohydrates

   • Starch (grains, potatoes, plant-based foods)
     • Long-chain glucose
   • Cellulose (plant cell walls)
     • Long-chain glucose
   • Glycogen (animal livers and muscles)
     • Branched-chain glucose
   • Chitin (fungi cell walls and arthropod exoskeletons)
     • Long-chain glucosamine

Usually with the following empirical formula:

$$C_m(H_{2}O{)}_n$$

However, not all carbohydrates conform to this precise stoichiometric definition (e.g., uronic acids, deoxy-sugars such as fucose), nor are all chemicals that do conform to this definition automatically classified as carbohydrates (e.g. formaldehyde and acetic acid).

Mono- and disaccharides are the smallest (lowest molecular weight) carbohydrates.
Commonly referred to as sugars.

Polysaccharides serve as an energy store (e.g. starch and glycogen) and as structural components (e.g. cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods/fungi).

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate