THE GLYCOSIDIC BOND

 

INTRODUCTION: Glycosidic In chemistry, a glycosidic bond or glycosidic linkage is a type of covalent bond that joins a carbohydrate also known as a sugar molecule to another group, which may or may not be another carbohydrate. A glycosidic bond is formed between the hemiacetal or hemiketal group of a saccharide, or a molecule derived from a saccharide, and the hydroxyl group of some compound such as an alcohol.  

A substance containing a glycosidic bond is a glycoside. A glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme hydrolysis, which causes the sugar part to be broken off, making the chemical available for use. Many such plant glycosides are used as medications.  

In animals and humans, poisons are often bound to sugar molecules as part of their elimination from the body. In formal terms, a glycoside is any molecule in which a sugar group is bonded through its anomeric carbon to another group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides can be linked by an O- (an O-glycoside), N- (a glycosylamine), S-(a thioglycoside), or C- (a C-glycoside) glycosidic bond. Glycosylation Sugars are commonly attached to proteins in a process called glycosylation. Typically the attachment is to a hydroxyl or other functional group. The majority of proteins synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum are glycosylated.

RELATED;

1.  DISACCHARIDES

2.  POLYSACCHARIDES

3.  THE FORCES THAT INTERACT WITH BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES