Carbohydrates, Biology

Assignment Help:

Carbohydrates

Fifty five to seventy per cent of the required energy in animals is derived from carbohydrates. However, fats and proteins can also be broken down and used for supplying energy. In most animals this happens only when the dietary intake of carbohydrates is low. In contrast, Drosophila uses only carbohydrates as a source of energy for its flight muscles and when the supply is exhausted the insect cannot fly even though it uses stored fat for other metabolic processes. Whereas, locusts are known to use only lipids for their long migratory flights. Most animals, however, use a variety of hexose sugars like glucose, fructose, mannose, and galactose as interchangeable sources of energy.

In this way no particular carbohydrate is really considered essential in a way similar to amino acids. But even if no carbohydrate is considered essential, growth of certain animals will be better on one type of sugar than on another. This can be explained better by the results of the following experiment. Young locusts showed that when dietary sugar was maltose growth was maximum or optimum and growth was minimum when no carbohydrate was given. Other sugars supported sub-optimal growth. What could be the reason for this difference? One of the main causes is the difference in the rate of movement of sugars across the gut wall into the blood. From the above experiment we can conclude that certain insects have a preference for a certain carbohydrate which can be called an essential or preferred nutrient. In the above experiment with locusts, maltose was the preferred nutrient.


Related Discussions:- Carbohydrates

What is hemolytic disease of newborn, Questiion 1 List various methods ...

Questiion 1 List various methods used for hemoglobin estimation of donor. Add a note on specific gravity method Question 2 Why is it important to follow safety measures

Viral vectors, Viral vectors   There are a large number of viral vector...

Viral vectors   There are a large number of viral vectors available which can transfer the desired sequence properly into the host. Examples of the viral vectors are as follows

Replication of chromatin, Whenever a chromosome is replicated the replicati...

Whenever a chromosome is replicated the replication machinery passes by the nucleosomes without deleting the histones from the DNA. How this happens is since not fully understood.

Define essentiality of nitrogen for growth of micro-organism, Define Essent...

Define Essentiality of Nitrogen for Growth of Micro-Organism? Nitrogen is an essential atom in certain cellular macromolecules, e.g. amino acids, purines, pyrimidines, enzymes,

What is the mechanism of gap junctions, What is the mechanism by which gap ...

What is the mechanism by which gap junctions could relay signals from G protein coupled receptors between cells within a tissue?

Role of exercise in the management of diabetes mellitus, Role of exercise i...

Role of exercise in the management of diabetes mellitus Exercise is another important component of life style modification. Like diet control, regular exercise is important in

Include the uncertainty interval and confidence level, What is the minimum ...

What is the minimum sample weight, at USP standards (U = 0.1% and k = 3), that can be measured on an analytic balance in which the repeatability is 0.0001 g. Include the uncertaint

Male reproductive system of earthworm, Male reproductive system of earthwor...

Male reproductive system of earthworm: Testis : There are two pairs of testis one on eachside of the body in 10th and 11th segments. They produce sperm mother cells. Seminal Ves

Psychedelic drugs (hallucinogens), PSYCHEDELI C DRUGS (HALLUCINOGENS) - ...

PSYCHEDELI C DRUGS (HALLUCINOGENS) - They act mainly on CNS and greatly alter one's thoughts, feelings and perceptions, called psychedelic drugs. They cause optical or a

taxonomy and evolution, explain industrial melanism and genetic repatterni...

explain industrial melanism and genetic repatterning during isolation with example

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd