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glycogen

[ glahy-kuh-juhn, -jen ]
/ ˈglaɪ kə dʒən, -ˌdʒɛn /
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noun Biochemistry.
a white, tasteless polysaccharide, (C6H10O5)n, molecularly similar to starch, constituting the principal carbohydrate storage material in animals and occurring chiefly in the liver, in muscle, and in fungi and yeasts.

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Also called animal starch .

Origin of glycogen

First recorded in 1855–60; glyco- + -gen
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use glycogen in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for glycogen

glycogen
/ (ˈɡlaɪkəʊdʒən, -dʒɛn) /

noun
a polysaccharide consisting of glucose units: the form in which carbohydrate is stored in the liver and muscles in man and animals. It can easily be hydrolysed to glucoseAlso called: animal starch

Derived forms of glycogen

glycogenic (ˌɡlaɪkəʊˈdʒɛnɪk), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for glycogen

glycogen
[ glī′kə-jən ]

A polysaccharide stored in animal liver and muscle cells that is easily converted to glucose to meet metabolic energy requirements. Most of the carbohydrate energy stored in animal cells is in the form of glycogen.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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