Glycogen in the context of "Glucagon"

Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek χυτρίδιον (khutrídion), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoospores. Chytrids are one of the earliest diverging fungal lineages, and their membership in kingdom Fungi is demonstrated with chitin cell walls, a posterior whiplash flagellum, absorptive nutrition, use of glycogen as an energy storage compound, and synthesis of lysine by the α-amino adipic acid (AAA) pathway.

Chytrids are saprobic, degrading refractory materials such as chitin and keratin, and sometimes act as parasites. There has been a significant increase in the research of chytrids since the discovery of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the causal agent of chytridiomycosis.

The blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, blood glucose level, or glycemia is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood. The body tightly regulates blood glucose levels as a part of metabolic homeostasis.

For a 70 kg (154 lb) human, approximately four grams of dissolved glucose (also called "blood glucose") is maintained in the blood plasma at all times. Glucose that is not circulating in the blood is stored in skeletal muscle and liver cells in the form of glycogen; in fasting individuals, blood glucose is maintained at a constant level by releasing just enough glucose from these glycogen stores in the liver and skeletal muscle in order to maintain homeostasis. Glucose can be transported from the intestines or liver to other tissues in the body via the bloodstream. Cellular glucose uptake is primarily regulated by insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. Once inside the cell, the glucose can now act as an energy source as it undergoes the process of glycolysis.

The liver is a major metabolic organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of various proteins and various other biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it is located in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen, below the diaphragm and mostly shielded by the lower right rib cage. Its other metabolic roles include carbohydrate metabolism, the production of a number of hormones, conversion and storage of nutrients such as glucose and glycogen, and the decomposition of red blood cells. Anatomical and medical terminology often use the prefix hepat- from ἡπατο-, from the Greek word for liver, such as hepatology, and hepatitis.

The liver is also an accessory digestive organ that produces bile, an alkaline fluid containing cholesterol and bile acids, which emulsifies and aids the breakdown of dietary fat. The gallbladder, a small hollow pouch that sits just under the right lobe of liver, stores and concentrates the bile produced by the liver, which is later excreted to the duodenum to help with digestion. The liver's highly specialized tissue, consisting mostly of hepatocytes, regulates a wide variety of high-volume biochemical reactions, including the synthesis and breakdown of small and complex organic molecules, many of which are necessary for normal vital functions. Estimates regarding the organ's total number of functions vary, but is generally cited as being around 500. For this reason, the liver has sometimes been described as the body's chemical factory.

Polysaccharides (/ˌpɒliˈsækəraɪd/; from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús) 'many, much' and σάκχαρ (sákkhar) 'sugar') are "Compounds consisting of a large number of monosaccharides linked glycosidically". They are the most abundant carbohydrates in food. Their structures range from linear to highly branched polymers. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen, and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin. The term "glycan" is synonymous with polysaccharide, but often glycans are discussed in the context of glycoconjugates, i.e. hybrids of polysaccharides and proteins or lipids.

Polysaccharides are often heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. They may be amorphous (e.g. starch) or insoluble in water (e.g. cellulose).

A carbohydrate (/ˌkɑːrboʊˈhaɪdreɪt/) is a sugar (saccharide) or a sugar derivative. For the simplest carbohydrates, the carbon-to-hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 1:2:1, i.e. they are often represented by the empirical formula C(H₂O)_n. Together with amino acids, fats, and nucleic acids, the carbohydrates are one of the major families of biomolecules.

Carbohydrates perform numerous roles in living organisms. Polysaccharides serve as an energy store (e.g., starch and glycogen) and as structural components (e.g., cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods and fungi). The 5-carbon monosaccharide ribose is an important component of coenzymes (e.g., ATP, FAD and NAD) and the backbone of the genetic molecule known as RNA. The related deoxyribose is a component of DNA. Saccharides and their derivatives play key roles in the immune system, fertilization, preventing pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.

Glucose is a sugar with the molecular formula C₆H₁₂O₆. It is the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is made from water and carbon dioxide during photosynthesis by plants and most algae. It is used by plants to make cellulose, the most abundant carbohydrate in the world, for use in cell walls, and by all living organisms to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used by the cell as energy. Glucose is often abbreviated as Glc.

In energy metabolism, glucose is the most important source of energy in all organisms. Glucose for metabolism is stored as a polymer, in plants mainly as amylose and amylopectin, and in animals as glycogen. Glucose circulates in the blood of animals as blood sugar. The naturally occurring form is d-glucose, while its stereoisomer l-glucose is produced synthetically in comparatively small amounts and is less biologically active. Glucose is a monosaccharide containing six carbon atoms and an aldehyde group, and is therefore an aldohexose. The glucose molecule can exist in an open-chain (acyclic) as well as ring (cyclic) form. Glucose is naturally occurring and is found in its free state in fruits and other parts of plants. In animals, it is released from the breakdown of glycogen in a process known as glycogenolysis.

Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets, and is contained in large amounts in staple foods such as wheat, potatoes, maize (corn), rice, and cassava (manioc).

Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. It consists of two types of molecules: the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin. Depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin by weight. Glycogen, the energy reserve of animals, is a more highly branched version of amylopectin.