Amino Acid being all cool n shiz

THE NAME’S BOND… PEPTIDE BOND

Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to find out all about peptide bonds

He is a sleek, suave bond between the alpha amino group of one amino acid and the alpha carboxyl group of another (CO-NH)      *ooooh*

He can bring amino acids together just by his presence… and a little loss of water (condensation)      *aaaahhh*

Get him mad, and he’ll hydrolyse your amino ASS-id (amino acid chain)      *shut your mouth*

If he joins 2 A.A’s together it’s called a dipeptide

If he joins 3 A.A’s together it’s called a tripeptide

If he joins many A.A’s together it’s called a polypeptide

And if he joins many polypeptides…….. well you know he’s making a protein babeh! (over 5000 g/mol)     *dayyuum*

Some people know him as amide bond but to us, he is…. Peptide bond.

This message will self destruct in 3..2…….

Fun Fact Friday!

• Leucine, an amino acid found in your sweat under your feet, bacteria feed on leucine and they ‘fart’ isoflavic acid which makes your feet smell stanky!

• If you lack protein in your diet, your hair gets thinner, puffy eyes in the morning and slow growth in children.
• The protein in semen acts on the female brain to prompt ovulation.

 

References:

•  Blogs.scientificamerican.com. “Scientific American Blog Network.” 2014. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/ (accessed 17 Feb 2014).
• Myfooddiary.com. “Protein Nutrition Facts – MyFoodDiary.” 2014. http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/nutrient_facts/nutrient_protein.asp (accessed 17 Feb 2014).

MYTH BUSTING- PROTEINS AND AMINO ACIDS ARTICLE REVIEW

This article posted on Authority Nutrition was excellent because it highlights and brings to light a common concern among people which is, can too much protein be a bad thing?

In the article, it gives a basic understanding as to what a protein is. Its definition states, “Proteins are the building blocks of life and every living cell uses them for both structural and functional purposes.”

For the layman, it doesn’t dive too deep into the biochemistry; instead it gives a rudimentary understanding of the structure of proteins, mentioning amino acids linked together like beads on a string. It also talks about the essential amino acids and where is the best place you can find them. It also mentions how much protein an individual should intake daily, varying for different people with different needs.

For the health conscious among us, the article also clears up the misconception; does protein leach calcium from our bones? The theory, according to the article, states “protein increases the acid load of your body, which causes the body to take calcium out of the bones.” So are these things true? Of course not!

The paragraph then gets into the science behind it and even references other studies contradicting the theory. Then the point concludes with some facts slapped right in yo’ face!

The third point to get across is for the fitness buffs. This segment of the article tells you all about the benefits of eating a lot of protein. Some of these benefits include:

• A positive effect on muscle mass
• Increased energy expenditure
• A high satiety value
• A lowered risk of disease.

But of course as we all know, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. There is a limit to how much protein you should consume. The last point in the article tells us about the amount of protein you should consume on a regular basis as opposed to if you were sick, or an athlete or body builder.

All in all, the article was great. I give it an 8 1/2 amino acids out of 10.

 

Reference:

• Authority Nutrition. “The Protein Myth – Is Too Much Protein Bad For Your Bones and Kidneys?.” 2013. http://authoritynutrition.com/is-too-much-protein-bad-for-you/ (accessed 17 Feb 2014).

Carbohydrates video review

This video gives a general overview of carbohydrates. It starts off giving the roles of carbohydrates and then it goes into the structure of it. It basically states that carbohydrates are divided into two categories simple sugars and polysaccharides. The major functions of carbohydrates are: it is used as an energy source and it provides structural integrity especially in the cell wall of plants through cellulose. The formula for carbohydrates suggests that there is a 1:2:1 ratio of 1 carbon atom to 2 hydrogen atoms to 1 oxygen atom. For example pentose, has 5 carbons and will therefore have the formula C₅H₁₀O₅.

There are four types of Carbohydrates:-

1. Monosaccharides-simple sugars comprising of a single sugar unit. Monosaccharides can be represented either in the ring or linear form. When the hydroxyl group in the ring form is below the molecule it is referred to as an alpha- glyceride, when it is below, it is referred to as a beta- glyceride. Monosaccharides are given their names based on the number of carbons they contain. Eg.Triose- 3 carbons C ₃H ₆O_{3 ,}Tetrose- 4 carbons C ₄H₈ O₄
2. Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic bond. Formation of the glycosidic bonds results in the loss of a water molecule (condensation).
3. Oligosaccharides consist of 3-20 sugar molecules bonded together.
4. Polysaccharides are molecules consisting of several sugars bonded together to form a large complex molecule. The 3 main polysaccharides are cellulose, Glycogen and Starch.

Cellulose- A major constituent of plant cell walls, which has a linear glucose polysaccharide chain and contains the beta-(1-4) bonds responsible for strength and rigidity of the plant cell wall.

Starch- The form in which plants store their carbohydrates. It comprises several glucose molecules and the main form of starch is amylopectin that has both alpha- (1-4) and alpha – (1-6) bonds.

Glycogen- Animals and humans store glucose/carbohydrates in the form of glycogen in the liver and skeletal muscles.

This is a good video for students who want to learn the basics of carbohydrates because it doesn’t go into great detail. On the other hand, the video is very informative and the narrator knows how to relate his work to others.

Reference

“Carbohydrates.” Accessed February 9,2014.http://www.salmonellaplace.com

Fun Fact Friday!

• Our brain uses about 120g of glucose daily…greedy brains!!
• In ancient Egyptian times, honey was used in mummification to preserve the dead.

• Since honey has antibacterial stuff in it, Roman legions put honey on their wounds to make it heal faster.

• As fruit ripens,the amount of starch decreases because they have transformed into sugars hence making the fruits sweet

Memory Peg

Boys Should Love Females

Feature	Cellulose	Starch	Glycogen
Building Blocks	β-D-glucose	α-D-glucose	α-D-glucose
Structure	Formed with 1-4 linkages with every other monomer unit flipped.	Made of amylose which has a(1-4) linkages, and amylopectin which also has a(1-4) linkages but with a(1-6) bonds forming branches every 24 monomer units.	Made up of 1-4 linkages mainly, with 1-6 linkages every 10 monomer units producing branches.
Location	Plants	Plants	Animals
Function	Lends necessary tensile strength to the cells of Plants.	Used as an energy storage molecule in Plants.	Used as an energy storage molecule in Animals.

Oh Honey!

Bees process the nectar in flowers and produce honey…but how? They dehydrate the nectar and make it very concentrated. Enzyme activity converts the gluconic acid and sucrose that are produced to glucose and fructose. Now which one is responsible for the sweetness of honey? If you answered fructose, yay for you! Fructose can be in two forms; β-D-Fructopyranose and β-D-Fructofuranose. The pyranose form is the more popular form of fructose. This is one of the sweetest carbohydrates BUT when temperature increases the honey becomes less sweet, WHY?! This is because due to the heat, the equilibrium of the system shifts the pyranose to the furanose form.

Did You Know??

When the storage points of glycogen are full and a person consumes more carbohydrates than necessary, the body will automatically convert the glycogen into fat hence it is essential to have a balanced diet.

You’re Just Too Sweet…………

There are two types of Diabetes (a metabolic disorder):

-Type 1 Diabetes Insipidus or Juvenile Diabetes: This is caused by destruction of the Beta cells in the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. These cells produce the hormone insulin, which lowers blood glucose levels by allowing the cells to utilise the glucose. No beta cells, no insulin.

– Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (most common) or Insulin Dependent Diabetes: This occurs when the blood glucose level is high and the body cannot produce sufficient insulin to allow the body cells to utilise the glucose so it remains in the blood. Extremely high blood glucose levels can result in a coma.

–          The pancreas releases the hormone insulin when the blood glucose levels are high or after a meal. Insulin converts glucose to glycogen, which is stored in the liver and muscles.

–          High glucose levels–>insulin–>glucose–>glycogen

–          When blood glucose levels are low the liver releases the hormone glucagon which converts glycogen to glucose.

–          Low blood glucose levels–>glucagon–>glycogen–>glucose

–          This process maintains the homeostasis of our blood glucose levels.