6.

1 Digestion and absorption:                             

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Peristalsis
 The contraction of circular and longitudinal muscle of the small intestine helps mix (mechanical
digestion) the food with enzymes and moves the semi-digested food (bolus) along the gut in a
process called peristalsis
 These muscles are made up of smooth muscle
 The process by which continual waves of contraction and relaxation (peristalsis) of the circular
and longitudinal muscle occur along the muscle layers surrounding the small intestine is controlled
by the autonomic nervous system
 Food is transported slowly through the small intestine to allow for maximum digestion and
absorption of nutrients

The pancreas secretes enzymes (amylase, lipase and an endopeptidase) into the lumen of the
small intestine. 

 Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up the rate of reaction in chemical digestion.
 Enzymes in digestion catalyze hydrolysis reactions.
 Pancreatic juice secreted into small intestine contains enzymes such as:
 Endopeptidases – example trypsin (breaks apart the peptide bond between amino acids in
polypeptides)
 Lipases – catalyzes the hydrolysis of lipids (triglycerides and phospholipids)
 Amylases - digestion of starch.
 Pancreatic juice is alkaline (basic) to allow enzymes to work at an optimal pH (around 7-8
in the small intestine).
 The pancreas is controlled by the enteric nervous system and through hormones produced
and released by the stomach.
 Enzymes are produced by ribosomes in the pancreatic gland cells, excreted by exocytosis into
smaller ducts, which converge to form the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic juice flows through the
pancreatic duct into the lumen of the small intestine

Enzymes digest most macromolecules in food into monomers in the small intestine (starch,
glycogen, lipids and nucleic acids are digested into monomers and that cellulose remains
undigested).  Some hydrolytic enzymes have economic importance, for example, amylase in the
production of sugars from starch and in the brewing of beer.

 Enzymes released by the small intestines break down macromolecules into smaller molecules
called monomers through catabolic reactions (hydrolysis is the type of specific reaction)
 The following is a table showing the enzyme, source, substrate, products

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 Breaks Down Products Formed
Enzyme Source pH      
(substrate) (products)
Salivary Neutral to
Amylase glands and STARCH MALTOSE slightly
pancreas basic
Walls of the
epithelial Slightly
Maltase MALTOSE GLUCOSE
cells of the Basic
SI
Walls of the
epithelial GLUCOSE AND Slightly
Lactase LACTOSE
cells of the GALACTOSE Basic
SI
Walls of the
epithelial GLUCOSE AND Slightly
Sucrase SUCROSE
cells of the FRUCTOSE Basic
SI
FATTY ACIDS AND Slightly
Lipase Pancreas LIPIDS
GLYCEROL Basic
FATTY ACIDS,
Slightly
Phospholipase Pancreas PHOSPHOLIPIDS GLYCEROL AND
Basic
PHOSPHATE
Proteases/Peptidases SHORTER
Slightly
POLYPEPTIDES PEPTIDES OR
Pancreas Basic
Such as Trypsin DIPEPTIDES
Walls of the
epithelial Slightly
Dipeptidases DIPEPTIDES AMINO ACIDS
cells of the Basic
SI
Walls of the
NUCLEIC ACIDS
epithelial Slightly
Nucleases SUCH AS DNA AND NUCLEOTIDES
cells of the Basic
RNA
SI

 Please note that some carbohydrates such as cellulose cannot be digested by humans as we
lack the enzymes needed to break down cellulose
 This is why a number of grass-eating animals have specialized digestive systems to
breakdown cellulose
 Cellulose is an insoluble dietary fibre that helps move waste through our digestive system
and prevents constipation

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Hydrolytic enzymes such as amylase are used in the brewing of beer to breakdown the starchy
endosperm of barley seeds to produce maltose (malt sugar) thus having a great economic importance

Villi increase the surface area of epithelium over which absorption is carried out.

 Villi are finger-like projections that make the surface of the small intestine look highly

folded. These projections increase the surface area (by about 10X) available for
absorption (the process of taking substances into the cells and blood).
 Microvilli are small hair-like projections attached to the villi to further increase surface area. 
 The outermost layer of the villi is thin epithelial cells to allow nutrients to easily move across
a short distance into the blood.
 A dense network of capillaries close to the epithelium allows a large amount of
nutrients to move into the blood.
 Lacteals, which are a part of the lymphatic system, run up the middle of the villi. The lacteal
allows for the absorption of the products of lipid digestion which are not easily absorbed by
the capillaries.

Villi absorb monomers formed by digestion as well as mineral ions and vitamins.

Absorption – process where small molecules and nutrients pass into the blood vessels (capillary
beds) in the wall of the intestine.

Assimilation – products of digestion that are absorbed into the blood are transported to the various
tissues. These molecules are used to build up larger molecules that become part of the structure of

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the tissue or body.

Feature How this helps

absorption

To take place

1-It is very long This gives plenty

About 5 m in an
of time for digestion to be completed, and
adult
digested food to be absorbed as it passes
through.

2-It has villi. This gives the inner surface of the small intestine
Each villus is a very large surface area. The larger the surface
Covered with cells area the faster food absorbed.
which have microvilli

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 3-villi contain blood Monosaccharide's, amino acids, water, minerals and
capillaries vitamins pass into the blood, to be taken to the liver
and the around the body.

4-villi contain Fats are absorbed into lacteals

lacteals, Which are
part of the lymphatic
system

5-villi have walls only The digested nutrients can easily cross
one cell thick
the wall to reach the blood capillaries

and lacteals

Different methods of membrane transport are required to absorb different nutrients.

1- Simple diffusion

From high concentration to low concentration through the cell membrane between the
phospholipids
Molecules need to be non polar molecules to pass by simple diffusion between the lipid tails ex.
Hydrophobic nutrients like fatty acids and monoglycerides

2-facilitated diffusion
Specific glucose channels allow glucose to diffuse from the epithelial cells into the blood cells of the
capillaries
Since glucose has many hydroxyl groups it is a polar molecule and cannot pass through the cell
membrane by simple diffusion and therefore relies on different types of facilitated diffusion in order
to move into and out of the epithelial cells of the villi.

3-Triglycerides, can’t move back out into the lumen because of their size.
These lipids combine together with proteins and phospholipids to form lipoproteins.

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The lipoproteins are then excreted by exocytosis, enter the lacteal and are carried away by the
lymph

4- Active transport

Na+ is pumped out of the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells into the interstitial space by
sodium/potassium pumps against its concentration gradient

Requires carrier proteins and energy from ATP

Digestion of starch
Starch is formed of 2 types of molecules

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 Amylose 1,4 bonds can be broken apart by amylase to form the disaccharide maltose and the
trisaccharide maltotriose
 Amylose cannot break the 1,6 bond seen in amylopectin
 These larger fragments containing this 1,6 bond of amylopectin are called dextrins
 These dextrins are further broken down by another enzyme into maltose
 Finally, all the maltose is hydrolyzed into glucose by maltase in order for it to be transported
from the lumen of the small intestine into the blood in the capillaries surrounding the small intestine

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