What is the difference between starches and glycogen?

Starch is the most important source of carbohydrates in the human diet and accounts for more than 50% of our carbohydrate intake. It occurs in plants in the form of granules, and these are particularly abundant in seeds (especially the cereal grains) and tubers, where they serve as a storage form of carbohydrates. 

Starch is a mixture of two polymers: amylose and amylopectin. Natural starches consist of about 10%–30% amylose and 70%–90% amylopectin. Amylose is a linear polysaccharide composed entirely of D-glucose units joined by the α-1,4-glycosidic linkages.

Amylopectin is a branched-chain polysaccharide composed of glucose units linked primarily by α-1,4-glycosidic bonds but with occasional α-1,6-glycosidic bonds, which are responsible for the branching. A molecule of amylopectin may contain many thousands of glucose units with branch points occurring about every 25–30 units.

What You Need To Know About Starch

  • Starch is the complex sugar of glucose (polysaccharide) that is stored as carbohydrates in plants.
  • It consists of two types of molecules, the linear and helical amylose and branched amylopectin.
  • The glucose components of starch are produced during photosynthesis where plants use light, water and carbon dioxide. 
  • Glycogen is stored in adipose tissues and primarily in the cells of the liver and skeletal muscle.
  • Starch occurs in the form of grains.
  • The molar mass of starch is variable.
  • Starch has coiled and unbranched chains (amylose) or long, branched chains (amylopectin).
  • Starch is made up of glycosidic bond, amylose and amylopectin which differ in their properties. Amylose contains unbranched, long chain with α(1-4) glycosidic bonds with varied molecular weight. Amylopectin on the other hand, contains highly branched chains, with the α(1-4) glycosidic bonds and α(1-6) linkages at their branching point (occurring at every 24 to 30 residues).
  • Starch is less compact than glycogen, forming grains in cells.
  • Starch is mainly found in cereals, vegetables, roots, tubers etc.
  • The molecular formula of starch is (C6H10O5)n +H2O.

What Is Glycogen?

Glycogen is the energy reserve carbohydrate of animals. Practically all mammalian cells contain some stored carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, but it is especially abundant in the liver (4%–8% by weight of tissue) and in skeletal muscle cells (0.5%–1.0%). Like starch in plants, glycogen is found as granules in liver and muscle cells. When fasting, animals draw on these glycogen reserves during the first day without food to obtain the glucose needed to maintain metabolic balance.

Glycogen is a branched polymer of glucose. Glucose residues are linked linearly by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds, and approximately every ten residues a chain of glucose residues branches off via α-1,6 glycosidic linkages. The α-glycosidic bonds give rise to a helical polymer structure.

Glycogen is hydrated with three to four parts water and forms granules in the cytoplasm that are 10-40nm in diameter. The protein glycogenin, which is involved in glycogen synthesis, is located at the core of each glycogen granule. Glycogen is an analogue of starch, which is the main form of glucose storage in most plants, but starch has fewer branches and is less compact than glycogen.

Glycogen and Starch are two polymers of glucose that are found in the living cells. Glucose is produced by the process of photosynthesis in plants and is the simplest form of sugar.  

Table of Contents

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Glycogen vs Starch

The difference between glycogen and starch is that glycogen is the polymer of glucose that is the main energy component for fungi and animals whereas glucose is the polymer of glucose that is an important energy component for plants.

What is the difference between starches and glycogen?

Glycogen is the essential storage component and the energy producer for animals and fungi. The monomer unit during the formation of glycogen is alpha glucose.

Starch is a vital component of energy production in plants. The glucose produced by the plants is converted to the insoluble storage substances like starch and fats.


 

Comparison Table

Parameters of comparisonGlycogenStarchDefinitionGlycogen is the polymeric carbohydrate of glucose that is the major component for animals and fungi.Starch is the complex sugar of glucose that is the major storage carbohydrate for plants.Monomer chainsGlycogen is the polymer where the monomer units form the short branched chains. It comprises of the monomer unit known as alpha glucose held by glycosidic bonds.Starch is made up of two further polymers- amylose and amylopectin where former forms the linear and coiled chains and latter forms the branched chains.Molecular Formula C24H42O21 is the molecular formula for glycogen.(C6H10O5)n is the molecular formula for starch.Occurs inGlycogen occurs in the form of small granules.Starch occurs in the form of grains.FunctionIt serves as the energy storing carbohydrate in animals.It serves as the energy storing carbohydrate in plants.

 

What is Glycogen?

Glycogen is the energy storage carbohydrate that is found only in animals and plants. It is the polymer of the simple sugar called alpha glucose.

It is also known as the animal starch and is found in liver cells, muscle cells, and stomach. It stores glucose to provide the body with the same when it is energy deficient.

When the body requires energy, glycogen is instantly broken down into glucose to provide the body energy that it requires. This process is known as glycogenolysis.

Some important facts about glycogen are:

  1. It is the energy storage carbohydrate, especially for animals and fungi.
  2. In humans, glycogen is stored as the body fat in the adipose tissues to provide energy when needed.
  3. Access to blood sugar glucose is also stored as glycogen with the action of the pancreas to prevent diabetes mellitus.
  4. The storage of glycogen by the muscle cells helps to keep the body ready for strenuous exercises and actions when required.
What is the difference between starches and glycogen?

 

What is Starch?

Starch is the essential energy storage component in plants. It is the polymer that is of extreme importance to plants in energy storage and production.

Starch is further formed by the combination of two kinds of molecules namely amylose and amylopectin. Amylose has the monomer units attached in the linear and the coiled structure whereas Amylopectin forms the branched chains.

Starch occurs in the granules called amyloplasts in the plant cells. In plants, starch is further converted to form cellulose that helps in energy production, growth, and repair of the cells.

Some important aspects of starch are as follows:

  1. Starch is the polysaccharide carbohydrate formed by the monomer called alpha glucose.
  2. It is made up of the 2 molecules amylose and amylopectin.
  3. Starch is used for various commercial purposes such as for manufacturing paper and textile industry.
What is the difference between starches and glycogen?

Main Differences Between Glycogen and Starch

  1. Glycogen is the energy storage carbohydrate that is found mainly in animals and fungi whereas Starch is the energy storage carbohydrate that is found predominantly in plants.
  2. Glycogen is made up of the single-molecule whereas starch is made up of two molecules namely amylose and amylopectin.
  3. Glycogen forms the branched-chain structure whereas Starch forms linear, coiled, and branch structure.
  4. Starch is used for commercial purposes such as paper and textile industry whereas glycogen is not used for commercial purposes.
  5. Glycogen is stored in liver cells and the muscle cells whereas starch are stored in the amyloplasts of the plant cells.


References

  1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1874604708600906

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What is a difference between starch and glycogen quizlet?

Glycogen is stored in animals in the liver and in muscle cells, whereas starch is stored in the roots, seeds, and leaves of plants. Starch has two different forms, one unbranched (amylose) and one branched (amylopectin), whereas glycogen is a single type of a highly branched molecule.

What is the difference between starch and glycogen brainly?

Starch stores energy, and glycogen provides structural support.

What is the main difference between glucose and starch?

Glucose is a single sugar molecule that your body can absorb directly in the intestine. Sucrose and starches are carbohydrates formed by two or more sugars bonded together. The sugars in sucrose and starch must be broken down into glucose molecules in the gastrointestinal tract before your intestines can absorb them.

Are starch and glycogen similar?

While both, starch and glycogen, are chemically identical, major differences in their physicochemical properties are related to the molecular organization of glucan chains within the molecules.