Food Chemistry

Title	% from total grade	Grade
1. Individual work	-	-
Independent study of theoretical topics, using both materials provided in class and other sources such as scientific books. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.

Title	% from total grade	Grade
1. Examination	-	-
Examination method: exam (E). In the exam, the student demonstrates knowledge of the structure and properties of the food components – proteins, carbohydrates and lipids –, as well as their role in the diet. The average mark for the test work is a compulsory 50%. Written exam – compulsory 50%.

Introduction to food chemistry. Classification of food-forming compounds by origin, nutritional importance and chemical structure. Monofunctional compounds (alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, amines and carboxylic acids) in nature and food. Food additives.

Structure and nomenclature of polyfunctional compounds - hydroxy acids and amino acids. Trivial names for hydroxy acids. Properties of amino acids and hydroxy acids.

Optical isomerism. Characterisation of optically active compounds. Fisher projection formulas and D, L nomenclature. Racemic mixture. Optical isomerism. Compounds with several chiral carbon atoms. Mesoform (tartaric acid). Hydroxy acids in nature and food. Hydroxy acids - food additives.

Lipids. Definition of lipids. Characterisation of lipids: according to their polarity, saponifiability and significance in nature. Fatty acids. Structure, nomenclature and classification of fatty acids. Configuration and arrangement of double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids. Omega (ω) fatty acids and essential (irreplaceable) fatty acids. Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA).

Physical and sensory properties of fatty acids. Fatty acid salts and esters. Properties of unsaturated fatty acids: hydrogenation (reduction), halogenation, isomerization and rearrangement reactions. Distribution of fatty acids in fats and oils.

Fats and oils. Definition and characteristics (by origin and consistency). Physical properties of fats/oils (factors that determine their melting point). Nomenclature and isomerism of fats and oils. Properties of ester bonds in fats and oils. Hydrolysis reaction in acidic medium. Saponification (basic hydrolysis). Acidolysis, alcoholysis and transesterification reactions. Properties of double bonds - halogenation and hydrogenation (reduction) reactions.

Numbers characterising the identity of fats/oils: saponification number and iodine number. Numbers characterising the spoilage and quality of fats/oils – acid number and peroxide number.

Autooxidation of fats/oils. Mechanism of oxidation. Primary and secondary oxidation products. Antioxidants – in nature and food additives. Distribution of fats/oils in natural and food products. Their importance in nutrition.

Polar lipids (definition). Classification of polar lipids. Coarsely dispersed systems. Emulsions. Orientation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts in emulsions. Phospholipids. Their classification and importance in life processes. Phosphatidic acid. The most important phospholipids: lecithins, cephalins, phosphatidylserine; phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol. Distribution of phospholipids in nature and importance in food.

Emulsifiers – food additives. Other classes of polar lipids – plasmalogens, glyceroglycolipids, sphingophospholipids, sphingoglycolipids. Structure of sterols. Their classification by origin. Cholesterol in the human body and food. Phytosterols in nature. Provitamins of sterols. Waxes in nature and food.

Carbohydrates. Classification and distribution of carbohydrates. Monosaccharides. Definition, general formula and nomenclature. Monosaccharide chain structure. Stereoisomerism and Fisher projection formulas. Enantiomers. Cyclic structures of monosaccharides. Chain-cycle tautomerism of monosaccharides (cyclo-oxo-tautomerism). Heywert perspective formulas for pyranose and furanose cycles (α-anomers and β-anomers).

Cyclic structures of monosaccharides. Chain-cycle tautomerism of monosaccharides (cyclo-oxo-tautomerism). Heywert perspective formulas for pyranose and furanose cycles (α-anomers and β-anomers). Conformational formulae of pyranose cycles.

Chemical properties of monosaccharides. Properties of the carbonyl group. Properties of the glycosidic hydroxyl group. Dehydration of aldoses to form hydroxymethylfurfural (hexoses) or furfural (pentoses). Glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose, xylose and ribose (deoxyribose) in nature.

Monosaccharide derivatives – polyhydric alcohols (polyols), uronic acids, amino sugars, deoxysugars, gluconic acid, phosphoric acid esters of monosaccharides.

Glycosides. Structure and characterisation of glycosides by: glycone, aglycone, glycosidic bond. O-glycosides: vanillin, amygdalin, flavonoid glycosides. S-glycosides (glucosinolates) – sinigrin.

Oligosaccharides. Disaccharides – reducing and non-reducing disaccharides. Structure and nomenclature of reducing disaccharides. Oxoform and tautomerism of reducing disaccharides. Structure and nomenclature of non-reducing disaccharides.

Common chemical properties of disaccharides. Properties of reducing disaccharides – oxidation and hydrogenation (reduction). Lactose, maltose, sucrose in food. Cellobiose, isomaltose, gentiobiose, trehalose, melibiose, raffinose in nature. Relative sweetness of sugars and sugar alcohols.

Polysaccharides. Characterisation of the structure of high molecular weight polysaccharides. Classification according to their role in living organisms and in food. Starch: structure of amylose and amylopectin. Starch hydrolysis and distribution in nature. Glycogen - structure and distribution.

Fibres. Cellulose - structure, hydrolysis and distribution. Pectic substances – structure, distribution and role in food. β-glycans – structure, distribution and role in food.

Structure and classification of haemicelluloses. Cereal pentosans (arabinoxylans) – structure, distribution and role in food. Structure of connective tissue polysaccharides: hyaluronic acid. Polysaccharides - food additives: classification by origin and role. Modified starches and celluloses. Algal polysaccharides and plant resin polysaccharides.

Heterocyclic compounds. Definition and classification principles of heterocyclic compounds. Five-membered aromatic heterocycles with one heteroatom. Furan, pyrrole and indole derivatives in nature and food. Pyridine. Pyridine/piperidine derivatives in nature and food.

Aromatic heterocycles with two heteroatoms – imidazole and pyrimidine derivatives. Purine derivatives in nature and food. RNA nucleotides – food additives. Non-aromatic oxygen containing six-membered heterocycles – coumarin and hormone.

α-Amino acids. Classification of amino acids according to their distribution in nature. Essential amino acids. Structure and classification of α-Amino acids according to the polarity of the side chains. Ionisation and isoelectric point of amino acids. Amino acid salts.

Non-proteinogenic (non-protein-forming) amino acids in nature and food. Betaines. Amino acid decarboxylation. Hydrolytic deamination of decarboxylated amino acids. Decarboxylation and deamination of asparagine (Asn).

Hydrogen bonds – intermolecular and intramolecular. The importance of amino acids in the formation of sensory properties of food. Polypeptides. Structure and nomenclature of polypeptides. Isomerism of dipeptides and tripeptides. Importance of polypeptides in nature. Polypeptides – creators of sensory properties of food.

Proteins. Protein structure – primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure. Protein solutions and their properties. Protein denaturation and hydrolysis.

Simple and complex proteins. Classification of simple proteins according to their solubility. Classification of complex proteins by prosthetic groups. Proteins in food. Comparison of the biological importance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Foods rich in protein. Biological nutritional value of proteins. Limiting amino acids.

Introduction to food chemistry. Classification of food-forming compounds by origin, nutritional importance and chemical structure. Monofunctional compounds (alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, amines and carboxylic acids) in nature and food. Food additives.

Structure and nomenclature of polyfunctional compounds - hydroxy acids and amino acids. Trivial names for hydroxy acids. Properties of amino acids and hydroxy acids.

Optical isomerism. Characterisation of optically active compounds. Fisher projection formulas and D, L nomenclature. Racemic mixture. Optical isomerism. Compounds with several chiral carbon atoms. Mesoform (tartaric acid). Hydroxy acids in nature and food. Hydroxy acids - food additives.

Lipids. Definition of lipids. Characterisation of lipids: according to their polarity, saponifiability and significance in nature. Fatty acids. Structure, nomenclature and classification of fatty acids. Configuration and arrangement of double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids. Omega (ω) fatty acids and essential (irreplaceable) fatty acids. Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA).

Physical and sensory properties of fatty acids. Fatty acid salts and esters. Properties of unsaturated fatty acids: hydrogenation (reduction), halogenation, isomerization and rearrangement reactions. Distribution of fatty acids in fats and oils.

Fats and oils. Definition and characteristics (by origin and consistency). Physical properties of fats/oils (factors that determine their melting point). Nomenclature and isomerism of fats and oils. Properties of ester bonds in fats and oils. Hydrolysis reaction in acidic medium. Saponification (basic hydrolysis). Acidolysis, alcoholysis and transesterification reactions. Properties of double bonds - halogenation and hydrogenation (reduction) reactions.

Numbers characterising the identity of fats/oils: saponification number and iodine number. Numbers characterising the spoilage and quality of fats/oils – acid number and peroxide number.

Autooxidation of fats/oils. Mechanism of oxidation. Primary and secondary oxidation products. Antioxidants – in nature and food additives. Distribution of fats/oils in natural and food products. Their importance in nutrition.

Polar lipids (definition). Classification of polar lipids. Coarsely dispersed systems. Emulsions. Orientation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts in emulsions. Phospholipids. Their classification and importance in life processes. Phosphatidic acid. The most important phospholipids: lecithins, cephalins, phosphatidylserine; phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol. Distribution of phospholipids in nature and importance in food.

Emulsifiers – food additives. Other classes of polar lipids – plasmalogens, glyceroglycolipids, sphingophospholipids, sphingoglycolipids. Structure of sterols. Their classification by origin. Cholesterol in the human body and food. Phytosterols in nature. Provitamins of sterols. Waxes in nature and food.

Carbohydrates. Classification and distribution of carbohydrates. Monosaccharides. Definition, general formula and nomenclature. Monosaccharide chain structure. Stereoisomerism and Fisher projection formulas. Enantiomers. Cyclic structures of monosaccharides. Chain-cycle tautomerism of monosaccharides (cyclo-oxo-tautomerism). Heywert perspective formulas for pyranose and furanose cycles (α-anomers and β-anomers).

Cyclic structures of monosaccharides. Chain-cycle tautomerism of monosaccharides (cyclo-oxo-tautomerism). Heywert perspective formulas for pyranose and furanose cycles (α-anomers and β-anomers). Conformational formulae of pyranose cycles.

Chemical properties of monosaccharides. Properties of the carbonyl group. Properties of the glycosidic hydroxyl group. Dehydration of aldoses to form hydroxymethylfurfural (hexoses) or furfural (pentoses). Glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose, xylose and ribose (deoxyribose) in nature.

Monosaccharide derivatives – polyhydric alcohols (polyols), uronic acids, amino sugars, deoxysugars, gluconic acid, phosphoric acid esters of monosaccharides.

Glycosides. Structure and characterisation of glycosides by: glycone, aglycone, glycosidic bond. O-glycosides: vanillin, amygdalin, flavonoid glycosides. S-glycosides (glucosinolates) – sinigrin.

Oligosaccharides. Disaccharides – reducing and non-reducing disaccharides. Structure and nomenclature of reducing disaccharides. Oxoform and tautomerism of reducing disaccharides. Structure and nomenclature of non-reducing disaccharides.

Common chemical properties of disaccharides. Properties of reducing disaccharides – oxidation and hydrogenation (reduction). Lactose, maltose, sucrose in food. Cellobiose, isomaltose, gentiobiose, trehalose, melibiose, raffinose in nature. Relative sweetness of sugars and sugar alcohols.

Polysaccharides. Characterisation of the structure of high molecular weight polysaccharides. Classification according to their role in living organisms and in food. Starch: structure of amylose and amylopectin. Starch hydrolysis and distribution in nature. Glycogen - structure and distribution.

Fibres. Cellulose - structure, hydrolysis and distribution. Pectic substances – structure, distribution and role in food. β-glycans – structure, distribution and role in food.

Structure and classification of haemicelluloses. Cereal pentosans (arabinoxylans) – structure, distribution and role in food. Structure of connective tissue polysaccharides: hyaluronic acid. Polysaccharides - food additives: classification by origin and role. Modified starches and celluloses. Algal polysaccharides and plant resin polysaccharides.

Heterocyclic compounds. Definition and classification principles of heterocyclic compounds. Five-membered aromatic heterocycles with one heteroatom. Furan, pyrrole and indole derivatives in nature and food. Pyridine. Pyridine/piperidine derivatives in nature and food.

Aromatic heterocycles with two heteroatoms – imidazole and pyrimidine derivatives. Purine derivatives in nature and food. RNA nucleotides – food additives. Non-aromatic oxygen containing six-membered heterocycles – coumarin and hormone.

α-Amino acids. Classification of amino acids according to their distribution in nature. Essential amino acids. Structure and classification of α-Amino acids according to the polarity of the side chains. Ionisation and isoelectric point of amino acids. Amino acid salts.

Non-proteinogenic (non-protein-forming) amino acids in nature and food. Betaines. Amino acid decarboxylation. Hydrolytic deamination of decarboxylated amino acids. Decarboxylation and deamination of asparagine (Asn).

Hydrogen bonds – intermolecular and intramolecular. The importance of amino acids in the formation of sensory properties of food. Polypeptides. Structure and nomenclature of polypeptides. Isomerism of dipeptides and tripeptides. Importance of polypeptides in nature. Polypeptides – creators of sensory properties of food.

Proteins. Protein structure – primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure. Protein solutions and their properties. Protein denaturation and hydrolysis.

Simple and complex proteins. Classification of simple proteins according to their solubility. Classification of complex proteins by prosthetic groups. Proteins in food. Comparison of the biological importance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Foods rich in protein. Biological nutritional value of proteins. Limiting amino acids.