23/10/21

Biology
Digestion in Humans
Heterotrophic nutrition is where humans and other
animals obtain their nutrition by consuming complex
organic molecules and breaking them down into simpler
soluble ones. Auto-trophic nutrition is ‘self-feeding’ such
as plants, bacteria and algae.
Heterotrophic nutrition consists of the following
processes:
1. Feeding or ingestion: where food is taken into the
body
2. Digestion: where large, complex, insoluble food
molecules are broken down into smaller, soluble
molecules
3. Absorption: where small, soluble food molecules are
absorbed into the blood and into body cells
4. Assimilation: where food molecules are stored or
used by the cells for respiration, growth and
development.
5. Egestion: where undigested food is removed from the
body
The Digestive System Summarized
1. The mouth or oral cavity: Foods enters the body
via the mouth or oral cavity which breaks down
large food particles into smaller particles through a
process called physical/mechanical digestion. This
allows an increase in surface area to volume ratio
so chemical digestion can occur faster.
Additionally, saliva secreted from the salivary
glands contains salivary amylase which breaks
down starch into maltose. The tongue aids in
mixing the food with the saliva then rolls the food
into small round masses called boli which are then
swallowed into the oesophagus via the pharynx.
2. The pharynx: this is the passageway where food
and air enter. It branches into the oesophagus and
trachea/windpipe. The epiglottis is a flap located
here that prevents food from entering into the
trachea.
3. The oesophagus: food travels down the oesophagus
by a process called peristalsis where the
longitudinal muscles relax and the circular muscles
contract (think about moving toothpaste up the
tube).
4. The stomach: here physical and chemical digestion
occurs. Physical digestion takes place where the
stomach walls squeeze and churns the food. The
 chemical digestion occurs through the gastric pit in
the stomach releasing gastric juices. The gastric
juice contains hydrochloric acid, mucus and
pepsinogen. The hydrochloric acid converts the
pepsinogen into pepsin, so the breakdown of
protein occurs. The stomach wall is lined by mucus
to protect it from the hydrochloric acid. After
several hours in the stomach, the food changes to a
liquid called chyme. This chyme is released in
small amounts into the small intestine via the
pyloric sphincter which relaxes (opens) and
contracts (closes).
5. The small intestine: The small intestine starts off
with the duodenum then goes to the jejunum and
finally the ileum which is the most coiled part of
the small intestine where absorption takes place.
The gall bladder which gets its bile from the liver
and the pancreas releases bile and pancreatic juice
to neutralize the acid in the chyme from the
stomach, so it does not damage the intestinal walls.
The pancreatic juice not only neutralizes acid due
to its alkaline pH, but it also contains enzymes
such as pancreatic amylase, trypsin and lipase. The
pancreatic amylase breaks down starch into
maltose and this maltose is broken down by the
enzyme maltase, found in intestinal juices into
glucose. The trypsin breaks down proteins into
polypeptides which is then broken down into
amino acids by the enzyme peptidases found in
intestinal juices. The lipase breaks down the fat
into fatty acids and glycerol. Furthermore, the bile
produced in the liver not only neutralizes acidity
but can break down fats through a process called
emulsification.
NB: the pancreas, liver and gall bladder are not
part of the alimentary canal, but they are accessory
organs that plays an important role in digestion.
: the duodenum and jejunum complete most of
the digestion of food so when it reaches the ileum
absorption can take place.
The walls of the small intestine (ileum) is lined by
finger-like projections called villi which are
covered with a layer of epithelial cells that have
microvilli. These structures increase the surface
area and since the epithelium is only once cell layer
thick, this increases the rate of absorption. Within
each villus there is a capillary network that absorbs
sugars and amino acids while the lacteal or lymph
vessel absorbs fats. This maintains the presence of
the concentration gradient.
6. The large intestine: Here the absorption of water
and minerals occur to prevent excess water loss
from the body. If too much water is absorbed, or
there is lack of dietary fibre this leads to
constipation. The faeces are stored in the last part
of the large intestine called the rectum, then passed
out through the anus. This process where
undigested material is removed from the
alimentary canal is called egestion.
Assimilation
– how the absorbed food is used by our body
a) Sugars/Glucose
 Respiration
 Converted to glycogen and stored in the liver
and muscle tissues
 Stored in adipose tissue under skin and around
organs
b)Amino acids
 Used by cells for growth and repair
 Excess gotten rid of by the kidney via urea
 Excess converted into glycogen and stored in
the liver.
c) Fatty acids
 Form new cell membranes
  Used for respiration when glucose is not
sufficient
 Stored in adipose tissues found under skin and
around organs.
Functions of the liver
1)Maintains blood glucose concentration
2)Produces bile
3)Creates/ produces proteins – plasma protein
4)Gets rid of excess amino acid
5)Detoxes blood
6)Breaks down red blood cells
7)Produces cholesterol
Digestive Enzymes
- Enzymes function at optimum temperature and pH
otherwise they become denatured.
- An enzyme attracts a substrate to its site and is called
an enzyme substrate complex. This catalyzes the
chemical reaction and forms products. After the
products are formed, they separate from the enzyme
surface. The enzyme since it is not altered by the
chemical reaction can repeat this process again
several times to form products.