BIOCHEMISTRY AND NUTRITION
1. CHEMISTRY OF BIOORGANIC MOLECULES
❖ Carbohydrates:
o Definition, biological importance and classification.
o Monosaccharides Isomerism, anomerism.
o Sugar derivatives, Disaccharides.
o Polysaccharides. Structures of starch and glycogen.
❖ Lipids:
o Definition, biological importance and classification.
o Fats and fatty acids.
o Introduction to compound lipids.
o Hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups.
o Cholesterol. Bile salts. Micelle.
o Bimolecular leaflet.
❖ Proteins:
o Biological importance.
o Amino acids: Classification.
o Introduction to peptides.
❖ Proteins:
o Simple and conjugated; globular and fibrous.
o Charge properties.
o Buffer action.
o Introduction to protein conformation.
o Denaturation.
❖ Nucleic acids:
o Building units.
o Nucleotides.
o Outline structure of DNA and RNA.
❖ High energy compounds:
o ATP, Phosphoryl amidines, Thiol esters, Enol phosphates.
2. MACRONUTERIENTS AND DIGESTION
❖ Energy needs:
o Basal metabolic rate.
o Dietary carbohydrates, fibres.
o Dietary lipids, essential fatty acids.
o Nitrogen balance.
o Essential amino acids.
o Protein quality and requirement (methods for evaluation of protein quality to be excluded).
o Protein calorie malnutrition.
o Balanced diet.
o Enzymatic hydrolysis of dietary carbohydrates.
o Mechanism of uptake of monosaccharides.
o Digestion and absorption of triacylglycerols.
o Enzymatic hydrolysis of dietary proteins and uptake of amino acids.
3. MICRONUTRIENTS
❖ Vitamins:
o Definition, classification, daily requirement,
o sources and deficiency symptoms.
o Brief account of water-soluble vitamins with biochemical functions. Vitamins A functions including
visual process.
o Vitamin D and its role in calcium metabolism.
o Vitamin E. Vitamin K and gamma carboxylation.
o Introduction to antivitamins and hypervitaminosis.
o Minerals: Classification, daily requirement.
o Calcium and phosphate: sources, uptake, excretion, function. Serum calcium regulation.
o Iron; sources, uptake and transport. Heme and nonheme iron functions; deficiency.
o Iodine: Brief introduction to thyroxine synthesis. General functions of thyroxine.
o Fluoride: function, deficiency and excess. Indications of role of other minerals.
4. ENERGY METABOLISM
❖ Overview:
o Outlines of glycolysis, pyruvate oxidation and citric acid cycle.
o Beta oxidation of fatty acids.
o Electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation.
o Ketone body formation and utilisation.
o Introduction to glycogenesis, glycogenolysis, fatty acid synthesis, lipogenesis and lipolysis.
o Gluconeogenesis.
o Lactate metabolism.
o Protein utilisation for energy.
o Glucogenic and ketogenic amino acids. Integration of metabolism.
5. SPECIAL ASPECTS OF METABOLISM
o Importance of pentose phosphate pathway
o Formation of glucuronic acid.
o Outlines of cholesterol synthesis and breakdown.
o Ammonia metabolism.
o Urea formation. Phosphocreatine formation.
o Transmethylation. Amines.
o Introduction to other functions of amino acids including one carbon transfer.
o Detoxication: Typical reactions.
o Examples of toxic compounds. Oxygen toxicity
6. BIOCHEMICAL GENETICS AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
o Introduction to nucleotides; formation and degradation.
o DNA as genetic material. Introduction to replication and transcription.
o Forms and functions of RNA.
o Genetic code and mutation.
o Outline of translation process.
o Antimetabolites and antibiotics interfering in replication, transcription and translation.
o Introduction to cancer, viruses and oncogenes.
7. ENZYME AND METABOLIC REGULATION
❖ Enzymes:
o Definition, classification, specificity and active site.
o Cofactors. Effect of pH, temperature and substrate concentration. Introduction to enzyme inhibitors,
proenzymes and isoenzymes. Introduction to allosteric regulation, covalent modification and
regulation by induction/repression.
o Overview of hormones.
o Introduction to second messengers, cyclic AMP, calcium ion, inositol triphosphate.
o Mechanism of action of steroid hormones, epinephrine, glucagon and insulin in brief.
o Acid base regulation. Electrolyte balance.
8. STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS AND BLOOD PROTEINS
❖ Connective tissue:
o Collagen and elastin. Glycosaminoglycans.
o Bone structure Structure of membranes.
o Membrane associated processes in brief.
o Exocytosis and endocytosis.
o Introduction to cytoskeleton.
o Myofibril and muscle contraction in brief.
o Haemoglobin: functions.
o Introduction to heme synthesis and degradation.
o Plasma proteins: classification and separation. Functions of albumin.
o A brief account of immunoglobulins. Plasma
o lipoproteins: Formation, function and turnover.
9. MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTRY
o Regulation of blood glucose.
o Diabetes mellitus and related disorders.
o Evaluation of glycaemic status.
o Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism: Biochemical evaluation. Hyperlipoproteinemia's and
atherosclerosis, Approaches to treatment. Jaundice: Classification and evaluation.
o Liver function tests: Plasma protein pattern, serum enzymes levels.
o Brief introduction to kidney function tests and gastric function tests. Acid base imbalance.
o Electrolyte imbalance: evaluation. Gout.
o Examples of genetic disorders including lysosomal storage disorders, glycogen storage disorders,
glucose 6- phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, hemoglobinopathies, inborn errors of amino acid
metabolism and muscular dystrophy (one or two examples with biochemical basis will be adequate).
Serum enzymes in diagnosis.
