Carbohydrate catabolism is the breakdown of carbohydrates into smaller units. The empirical formula for carbohydrates, like that of their monomer counterparts, is C_X(H_2YO_Y). Carbohydrates literally undergo combustion to retrieve the large amounts of energy in their bonds. Read more about mitochondria to find out more about the reaction and how its energy is secured in ATP.

There exist different types of carbohydrates, these are polysaccharide (eg, starch, amylopectin, glycogen, cellulose), monosaccharides (eg, glucose, galactose, fructose, ribose) and disaccharides (eg, maltose, lactose).

Glucose reacts with oxygen in the following redox reaction, C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O, the carbon dioxide and water is a waste product and the chemical reaction is exothermic.

See also: cellular respiration, glycolysis.