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

Define about the mid-day meal programme, Define about the Mid-day Meal Prog...

Define about the Mid-day Meal Programme? The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education commonly known as the Mid Day Meal (MDM) Scheme (was launched in Aug

Doppler evaluation for constrictive pericarditis, Q. Doppler evaluation for...

Q. Doppler evaluation for constrictive pericarditis ? 2D Echocardiography and Doppler evaluation can provide valuable clues to the presence of constrictive pericarditis. M-Mo

ASSINMENT, HISTORY ON CLASSIFICATION IN BIOLOGY

HISTORY ON CLASSIFICATION IN BIOLOGY

Discuss about smooth muscles, Smooth muscles These muscles are beyond o...

Smooth muscles These muscles are beyond our control. That means these muscles are controlled by autonomic nervous system. They are non-voluntary muscles. They are found in thin

What is the difference between venous and arterial blood, Q. What is the di...

Q. What is the difference between venous and arterial blood? Arterial blood is the oxygen-rich and carbon dioxide-poor blood that irrigates the tissues. Venous blood is the oxy

Find the modalities in stress testing, Q. Find the Modalities in stress tes...

Q. Find the Modalities in stress testing? In addition to electrocardiographic stress testing, there are various newer modalities that can be very useful in the determination o

Cell membrane lining the inner surface of the cell wall, Cell membrane lini...

Cell membrane lining the inner surface of the cell wall The cell membrane lining the inner surface of the cell wall is made up of phospholipids (45%) and proteins (55%). Some

Pennetula, identifying characters of pennetula

identifying characters of pennetula

Cell, compare and contrast plant cell and animal cell with labeling diagram...

compare and contrast plant cell and animal cell with labeling diagrams

Tissue culture, Tissue Culture It is an important technique for maintai...

Tissue Culture It is an important technique for maintaining a'pm or piece of animal or plant tissue alive after their culture dishes. It is necessary to provide an environment

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