DIGESTION

Digestion is the process by which food molecules are broken down into simpler
molecules that can be absorbed into the blood through the intestinal walls. It involves
the use of hydrolases – the hydrolytic enzymes. The hydrolases catalyze the hydrolysis
of carbohydrates to monosaccharide, fats into fatty acids and glycerol, and proteins into
amino acids.

However many foods do not require digestion. Monosaccharides are already in

their simples form and do not require digestion. Inorganics salts and vitamins also do
not require digestion.

Digestion of food takes place in the mouth, the stomach, and the small intestines, each
area having its own particular enzyme or enzymes that catalyze the hydrolytic reactions.

Salivary Digestion:

During chewing, the food is mixed with the saliva. The saliva moistens the food,
so that swallowing is easier. Saliva is approximately 99.5 % water. The remaining 0.5
% consists of mucin, a glycoprotein that acts as a lubricant, several inorganic salts that
act as buffer, saliva amylase, an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of starches; and
a lingual lipase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of triglycerides. Saliva also acts as an
excretory fluid for certain drugs, inorganic ions. Saliva has a pH range of 5.75 to 7.0.
and an optimum pH of 6.6.

Gastric Digestion:

When food is swallowed, it passes down the esophagus into the stomach where
it is mixed with the gastric juice. The gastric juice is secreted by glands in the walls of
the stomach. When food enters the stomach, it causes the production of the hormone
gastrin. Gastrin diffuses into the blood stream, which causes it back to the stomach,
where it then stimulates the flow of gastric juice.

Approximately 2 to 3 L of gastric juice is secreted daily. Gastric juice is normally

clear, pale yellow liquid with a pH of 1 to 2. It is 97 to 99 % water and up to 0,5 % free
HCl. It is the presence of this HCl that causes this gastric juice to have a low pH. In
certain pathologic conditions, the acidity of the stomach may be less than normal. Such
a condition is known as “hypoacidity” and is commonly associated with stomach cancer
and pernicious anemia. Hyperacidity is a condition in which the stomach has too high
an acid concentration. It is indicative of gastric ulcers, hypertension or gastritis
(inflammation of the stomach walls).

Intestinal Digestion

The food in the stomach is very acidic. When this acid material enters the small
intestines, it stimulates the mucosa to release hormone secretin. Secretin, in turn,
stimulates the pancreas to release the pancreatic juice into the small intestines
 Three different digestive juices enter the small intestines. These digestive juices
are alkaline and neutralize the acid contents coming from the stomach. The three
digestive juices entering the small intestines are (1) pancreatic juice (2) intestinal juice
and (3) bile.

Bile

Produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder. The gallbladder absorbs
some of the water and other substances from the liver bile and so changes its
composition. When meat or fats enter the small intestine, they cause it to secrete a
hormone, cholecystokinin (CKK). This hormone enters the bloodstream and is carried
to the gallbladder, where it causes that organ to contract and empty into the duodenum,
through the bile duct.

Bile is yellowish brown to green viscous liquid with a pH of 7.8 to 8.6. Because it
is alkaline, it serves to neutralize the acid entering from the stomach. It contains bile
salts, bile pigments, and cholesterol. It has no enzymes. It is the end product of
cholesterol metabolism and is primarily determinant in cholesterol synthesis.

Bile acts in the removal of many drugs and poisons from the body and so with
inorganic ions.

Bile Salts

Sodium glycocholate and sodium taurocholate are the wo most important bile
salts. They are both derived from cholic acid.

Bile salts have the ability to lower surface tension and increase surface area,
thus aiding in the emulsification of fats. It also aids in the absorption of fatty acids
through the walls of the intestines. They also helps stimulate intestinal motility.

Digestion of Carbohydrates

Mouth

Saliva contains salivary amylase (ptyalin) which catalyses the hydrolysis of

starch into maltose. This enzyme becomes inactive at pH below 4 so that as activity
ceases when it is mixed with the contents of the stomach where the pH fall to 1.5.
Salivary amylase does not serve a very important function in digestion because the food
does not remain in the mouth long enough for any appreciation hydrolysis to take place.

Stomach

The stomach contain no enzyme, so no digestion of carbohydrates occurs. The

activity of salivary amylase ceases as soon as it becomes mixed with the acid contents
of the stomach.

Small Intestines

The major digestion of carbohydrates take palce in the small intestines through

the enzymes in the pancreatic and intestinal juices.

 The pancreatic juice contains the enzyme pancreatic amylase, which catalyzes
the hydrolysis of starch and dextrin into maltose. The maltose thus produced is
hydrolyzed to glucose through the activity of the enzyme maltase from the intestinal
mucosal cells. The optimum pH of pancreatic amylases is pH 7.1.

Digestion of Fats

Mouth

Aligual lipase secreted by the dorsal surface of the toungue acts on triglyceride,
particularly the type found in milk. Ligual lipase has an optimum pH of 4.0 to 4.5 and a
pH range of activity of 3.0 to 7.5 so it can continue its activity even at low pH in the
stomach.

Stomach

Very little digestion of fats take place at the stomach because the pH in the
stomach (1-2) is far below the optimum pH of that enzyme (7-8). Before fats are
digested, they should be emulsified before they can be digested by lipase and there is
no mechanism of emulsification of fats in the stomach.

Small Intestine

The pancreatic lipase catalyses the hydrolysis of fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
This action is aided by the bile, which emulsifies the fats so that they can be acted upon
readily by pancreatic lipase.

Digestion of Proteins

Mouth

All saliva contain no enzymes for the hydrolysis of protein, there in no digestion
of protein in the mouth.

Stomach

The precursor enzyme pepsinogen is converted to pepsin when it is mixed with

the hydrochloric acid of the stomach. Pepsin catalyses the hydrolysis of protein to
polypeptide.

Small Intestine

In the small intestine, the zymogen trypsinogen from the pancreatic juice is
changed into trypsin by the intestinal enzyme eneterokinase. Trypsin in turn changes
chymotrypsinogen, another pancreatic zymogen into chymotrypsin. Both trypsin and
chymotrypsin, catalyze the hydrolysis of protein, proteases, and prptone to
polypeptides. The optimum pH of trypsin and chymotrypsin is 8 09.

SUMMARY OF DIGESTION
Type of Digestion Location of Digestive Juice Substrates Product
Digestion and Enzymes
Salivary Mouth Saliva
Salivary Starch,glycogen Maltose and
amylase (ptyalin) dextrins
Lingual Lipase Milk Fatty Acids _+ 1,2-
diglycerides _
Gastric Stomach Gastric Juice
Hydrochloric Pepsinogen Pepsin
Acid
Pepsin Protein Polypeptides
Lipase FAts Fatty acids +
glycerol
Intestinal Small Intestine Intestinal Juice
Enterokinase Trypsinogen Trypsin
Aminopeptidase Polypeptides Amino Acids
Dipeptidase Peptides Amino Acids
Maltase Maltose Glucose
Sucrase Sucrose Glucose +
Fructose
Lactase Lactose Glucose +
galactose

Pancreatic Juice
Trypsin Protein Polypeptidase
Chymotrypsin Protein Polypeptides
Pancreatic Starch + Maltose
amylase glycogen
Pancreatic Fats Fatty acids +
Lipase glycerol
Caboxypeptidase Amino acids
Polypeptides
Phosphatase Organic phosphates Free phosphates
Polynucleotidases Nucleotides
Nucleic acids
Nucleosidases
Nucleosides Purines,
pyrimidines,
phosphates,
pentoses

Polypeptides,
Elastase dipeptides
Protein,
Ribonuclease Polypeptides Nucleotides
Deoxyribonuclease Ribonucleic acid Nucleotides
Cholesterol ester Deoxyribonucleic acid Cholesterol, fatty acids
hydrolases Cholesterol esters
Phospholipase A2 Fatty acids,
Phospholipids phosphates

Sites of Absorption of Body Nutrients

Small Intestines Large Intestines

Glucose, other monosacharrides Bile salts

Monoglycerides Some electrolytes
Glycerol Water
Cholesterol
Amino acids
Peptides
Vitamins
Some electrolytes, e. g. Fe 2+, Ca 2+, PO4 2-
Effects of Malabsorption of Nutrients

Substance Malabsorbed Symptoms

Lactose Milk Intolerance

Vitamin K Bleeding, bruising
Iron, Vitamin B12, Folates Anemia
Protein products Edema
Calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D Tetany
Calcium, protein products Osteoporosis
Neutral amino acid Hartnup disease