Glycogen in Human Body
The human body stores glucose as glycogen where many glucose molecules linked together in highly branched chains.
Glycogen is the main polysaccharide storing energy in many animals and the human body. Its structure is similar to that of the plant starch amylopectin, but glycogen is much more highly branched. It is much larger with up to 1 000 000 glucose units present.
Carbohydrate are human body’s main source of energy. The monosaccharides, disaccharides, starch and the glycogen in the food are converted into: glucose, fructose and galactose.
These sugars then circulated in and transported to the different parts of the body for metabolism.
These sugars are converted into glycogen in the liver, as well as in the muscle where it is available for immediate use as energy.
The body maintains equilibrium between glucose, the energy-producing sugar, and glycogen, which can be converted to glucose as the glucose in the blood used up to produce energy.
The breakdown of glycogen into glucose is called glycogenolysis. It is promoted by the hormone glucagon.
Glycogen supplies glucose in periods between meals. Glucose then enters the blood stream where us serves as an immediate source of energy for cells.
Glycogen in muscles is broken down when people doing exercise to produce glucose required to supply energy, but only to muscle cells.
Glycogen is an ideal storage form for glucose. The large size of these macromolecules prevents them from diffusing out of cells.
