Glucose

Glucose

 

Glucose is a molecule that has influenced society and civilization significantly due to its ubiquitous applications as taste and flavor enhancers, preservatives, and sweeteners. Glucose is the primary source of energy and stimulates the phosphorylation of ADP into ATP to power anabolic or endergonic reactions within the cell. All of the different types of cells, including neurons, myocytes, adipocytes, and erythrocytes require an ample supply of glucose to facilitate ATP synthesis. Glucose is a monosaccharide, which is a monomer as a sugar. The glucose molecule contains six carbon atoms and is arranged in a cyclic form, along with its constitutional isomer, fructose. There are two positions of each molecule, the alpha position and the beta position; to form the disaccharide sucrose, the OH group on Carbon 1 of alpha glucose and the H atom on Carbon 2 on beta fructose are removed through a dehydration synthesis reaction to form a dimer. The substances, glucose, sucrose, and fructose taste sweet because the shape of their chemical and molecular structure allow them to bind to the receptors on the “sweetness” taste buds and induce the perception of sweetness during chemical digestion of the food item in the mouth. The reason as to why these molecules produce the perception of the sweet taste directly refers to their molecular structure; the atoms are arranged in a dispersed manner and are pretty distant from one another, causing the sugar molecule to be larger. The facilitated diffusion of glucose molecules into the cytoplasm only occurs when insulin molecules bind to their receptors, next to the GLUT transporters. Sugar metabolism is also stimulated by the mechanism of action of insulin, including glycolysis and the polymerization of glucose into glycogen. Lactose, another disaccharide, is composed of glucose and galactose, yet not everybody has a sufficient amount of the digestive enzyme, lactase, to cleave the sugar found in milk. The symptoms of ingestion of milk in a lactose intolerant person include vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, and indigestion as a result of the presence of food molecules that cannot be cleaved and broken down into its constituent components. Other sweet compounds also exist, yet their consumption is no recommended due to their possible toxicity in the body. One compound that imparts a sweet taste would be ethylene glycol, which is metabolized into oxalic acid, which poses renal toxicity and may induce acute kidney failure as a result. During the times of ancient Rome, the sweetener, lead acetate, has been used to sweeten wines and the wines themselves were stored for prolonged periods of time in containers that were composed of lead acetate. The cation in the compound, lead, is a neurotoxin, which means that it will induce a variety of symptoms relating to the nervous system, such as irritability, erratic behavior, headaches, mental instability, and brain damage. Emperor Nero has is known to express symptoms such as erratic behavior and irritability as a result of lead poisoning and toxicity. Artificial sweeteners, currently, are also being synthesized in large amounts on an industrial scale and are applied to a variety of products; these compounds include sucralose, stevia, cyclamate, acesulfame potassium, and aspartame. During 1879, a chemistry student at John Hopkins University at Baltimore noticed the sweetness in the bread he was consuming, which lead to the usage of saccharin as an artificial sweetener. Saccharin could be metabolized into aspartame in two steps (Saccharin à Sodium Cyclamate à Aspartame). These molecules mimic the geometry of the molecular structure of naturally occurring sugars, yet are often not metabolized and broken down in the body. For example, the artificial sweetener, sucralose, is similar to the sucrose molecule however the glucose unit is replaced with galactose, and three OH (hydroxyl groups) are replaced with chlorine atoms, which do not affect the sweetness of the compound but prevent the body from metabolizing it, therefore it is known as a non-caloric sugar. Excess ingestion of an artificial sweetener such as sucralose could lead to acute hyperglycemia, however because the pancreas does not secrete insulin in response to the sugar molecules being present in the bloodstream. Thee only way these molecules could be eliminated from the bloodstream is through renal excretion (glomerular filtration and tubular secretion) into the filtrate. Sugarcane cultivation (Saccharum officinarum) used to occur from several centuries ago and has also lead to the importation of African slaves into the New World and the sugar trade, which fueled the economic growth in Europe and generated large profit margins due to the great demand of sugar. Sugar has been used in a variety of products, such as jams, alcoholic beverages, and sweets. The sugar trade eventually led to the French Industrial Revolution and the economic expansion of Britain. After slavery has been abolished, other minority groups were exploited and worked on sugarcane plantations to cultivate the substance that everybody craves once in a while and is applied to a great amount of products, such as cookies, beverages, and other treats. During the past few centuries, from the late 18^th century, sugarcane cultivation and the monopoly of the sugar trade generated large amounts of profit and satisfied many people’s taste buds, which millions of other people were exploited to maintain the process of sugar cultivation. Currently, the average sugar consumption, including glucose and its isomers, is much higher than it has been during the past few centuries, giving rise to new disorders and conditions such as diabetes, weight gain, metabolic problems, glycation, and dental caries. The author’s opinions and the information provided concerning glucose is very accurate because the entire picture and idea is divulged, including aspects of human behavior, how sugar has been produced, slavery, and the economic expansions the trade on sugar and sugar-based products provoked in many parts of the world, particularly France and the Great Britain. In conclusion, the molecule glucose influenced human civilization and society because substances of a high demand always yield to high profit margins, increases in economic growth, and the application of sugar in a variety of products that are found everywhere and in almost every store that sells food items. However, the excessive consumption of sugar currently also precipitates a variety of symptoms and disorders that may have serious consequences. Every molecule that is ubiquitous and found in large quantities everywhere used to be cultivated through arduous effort and exploitation to boost economies and generate profit margins; while consuming a cup of coffee and a donut in the morning, nobody seems to give it any thought.