Question

why are glycolipid known as cerebrosides?

Answer 1

Answer:

Cerebrosides are glycosphingolipids found in neurons and muscle cells' cell membranes.

Explanation:

• A glycosphingolipid is a lipid that consists of a carbohydrate and a sphingolipid, especially one with a sphingosine backbone.
• A glycosidic connection connects the carbohydrate to the sphingolipid. Cerebrosides, gangliosides, globosides, and glycophosphosphingolipids are examples of glycosphingolipids.
• The core of the cerebroside is sphingosine. A cerebroside structure is made up of a monosaccharide (galactose or glucose) or an oligosaccharide that is glycosidically connected to the ceramide's terminal OH group.
• Sphingosine, sugar unit (e.g. galactose or glucose), and fatty acid are all produced when a cerebroside is hydrolyzed. The cerebroside's carbohydrate component spreads beyond the cell membrane's boundaries.
• As a result, it is involved in cell-to-cell contacts.

Answer 2

Answer:

Cerebrosides are one type of glycolipids.

Explanation:

If we have to understand that why glycolipids are known as cerebrosides, first we have to know about the glycolipid structure.

• Lipid containing saccharide groups go under the general name of glycolipids. It is a complex of lipids, fatty acids, carbohydrate, sphingolipids or glycerol group.
• The glycosphingolipids is the most important type of glycolipid. The head group of glycosphingolipids contains one or more sugars connected directly to the -OH at C-1 of the ceramide moiety.
• Cerebroside is a one type of glycosphingolipid and have single monosaccharide linked to ceramide. These type of glycolipids are found in the white matter of the brain, in the mylein sheets of nerve and sometimes within the cell membranes of other tissues.

As the cerebroside is a one type of glycosphingolipid and  glycosphingolipids is the most important type of glycolipid, so it can be concluded that  glycolipids are also known as cerebrosides.