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In this paper, we report the effective atomic number of some H, C, N and O based sugars and amino acids. These have been determined by using a handy expression which is based on the theoretical angle integrated small angle (coherent+incoherent) scattering cross sections of seven elements of Z ≤ 13 in four angular ranges of (0–4°), (0–6°), (0–8°) and (0–10°)for 241 Am (59.54 keV) and 137 Cs (661.6 keV) gamma rays. The theoretical scattering cross sections were computed by a suitable numerical integration of the atomic form factor and incoherent scattering function compilations of Hubbell et al. (1975) which make use of the non-relativistic Hartree–Fock (NRHF) model for the atomic charge distribution of the elements in the angular ranges of interest. The angle integrated small angle scattering cross sections of the H, C, N and O based sugars and amino acids measured by a new method reported recently by the authors were used in the handy expression to derive their effective atomic number. The results are compared with the other available data and discussed. Possible conclusions are drawn based on the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]