what are major function of dietary carbohydrates in human me

what are major function of dietary carbohydrates in human metabolism.

Solution

In metabolism, carbohydrtes serve as the primary source of energy. They are used as fuels to generate energy which is then used to drive other metabolic processes.

The major fuels for our body cells is glucose. Glucose and other carbohydrates are part of a wide variety of metabolic pathways across species: plants synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water by photosynthesis, storing the absorbed energy internally, often in the form of starch or lipids. Plant components are consumed by animals and fungi, and used as fuel for cellular respiration. Oxidation of one gram of carbohydrate yields approximately 4 kcal of energy.

Glucose which we get from the breakdown of large carbohydrates like starch and glycogen forms the central pathway for most of the bioenergetic reactions in the body such as glycolysis, krebs cycle etc. All yhe dietary carbohydrates in our food is ultimtely converted in glucose. Most of this glucose is consumed as fuel to drive different metabolic processes and excess remains stored in the form of glycogn in liver and muscle cells. Excess carbohydrates are regularly catabolised to form acetyl-CoA, which is a feed stock for the fatty acid synthesis pathway. Fatty acids, triglycerides, and other lipids are commonly used for long-term energy storage.

Carbohydrates are a superior short-term fuel for organisms because they are simpler to metabolize than fats or those amino acids (components of proteins) that can be used for fuel. In animals, the most important carbohydrate is glucose. The concentration of glucose in the blood is used as the main control for the central metabolic hormone insulin.