Digestion and Absorption of Lipids

Digestion and Absorption of Lipids

Dietary lipids
• Foods like meat, animal fat, butter, milk,
cheese, egg yolk and cooking oils and ghee
contain lipids.
• The lipids present in them are mainly
triglycerides, phospholipids, glycolipids,
cholesterol and its esters, fatty acids, sterols
and carotenes.
• An adult may consume 50-150 gms of lipid per
day.
• Triglycerides accounts for 90% of dietary lipids.
 Digestion of Lipids
• Hydrolysis of triglycerides, compound lipids
and cholesterol esters to glycerol, free fatty
acids, mono acylglycerols and free
cholesterol constitutes the process of
digestion.

• Since the lipids are water insoluble hydrolysis

of dietary lipids by enzymes in aqueous
environment of GI tract poses a problem.

• The problem is solved by the emulsification

of lipids by the bile salts present in bile.
Bile salts
1) Sodium and potassium glycocholate,
2) sodium and potassium taurocholate,
3) sodium and potassium glyco chenodeoxy
cholate and
4) sodium and potassium taurochenodeoxy
cholate.
 Bile salts form emulsions with lipids by
reducing surface tension of water.
 An emulsion consist of water insoluble
lipids dispersed in water.
 They can reduce surface tension of water
because they are amphipathic molecules.
 The emulsification of lipids by bile salts
increases surface area of lipid at water
lipid interphase for the action of enzymes.
 Lipid Digestion In the mouth
• Due to lack of favourable conditions like
emulsification and PH, no digestion of lipid
occurs in the mouth.
In the stomach
• In humans, initiation of fat digestion occurs in
stomach with mechanical emulsification.
• Gastric lipase hydrolyzes dietary triglycerides
to diacylglycerol and fatty acids.
• About 10-30% of dietary triglycerides are
hydrolyzed by gastric lipase.
 In the small intestine
• Small intestine is the major site of lipid digestion
due to the pancreatic lipase.
• It requires colipase and bile salts for its activity.
• Colipase is a protein present in pancreatic juice
along with lipase.
• As such lipase has no affinity towards emulsion
particles of dietary lipids and bile salts.
• Hence, colipase forms complex with emulsion
particle initially.
• Then the lipase attaches to emulsion particle by
forming ternary complex .
• In the ternary complex lipase and colipase are
bound to each other.
• Pancreatic lipase, is an α-lipase and an esterase.
Formation of lipase, colipase and
emulsion complex
• It hydrolyzes the ester linkages of triglyceride
at α, α′ or (1, 3)- positions and forms
2-monoacylglycerol and free fatty acids.
• It can not hydrolyze the ester bond of
triglyceride at 2(β) position .
• About 72% of 2-monoacylglycerol leaves
emulsion particle and forms mixed micelles.
• The rest (about 28%) of 2-monoacylglycerol is
converted to 1-monoacylglycerol by an
isomerase.
• Now α-lipase converts 1-monoacylglycerol to
glycerol and free fatty acids (22%).
• The rest of 1-monoacylglycerol (about 6%) is
absorbed as such.
• Cholesterol esterase is another esterase
present in pancreatic juice.

• It converts cholesterol esters to

cholesterol and free fatty acids.

• Human cholesterol esterase also acts on

triglycerides, phospholipids and lipid
vitamin esters in presence of bile salts.
Digestion
and absorption
of lipids.
R–COOH
indicates free
fatty acids (FFA)
Recycling of bile salts
 Pancreatic juice also contains some esterases,
which acts on phospholipids
1. Phosphoplipase A2
It is secreted in proform and activated by trypsin.
 It hydrolyzes ester bond at β position of phospholipid
and forms lysophospholipid and fatty acid .
2. Lysophospholipase
It acts on lysophospholipid and forms
glycerophosphocholine and free fatty acid.
Enzymes of lipid digestion and bile secretion are
hormonally regulated.
In response to dietary lipids, lower part of duodenum
and jejunum produces hormone cholecystokinin.
It acts on pancreatic cells to release enzymes and
causes contraction of gall bladder for the release of
bile.
 Absorption of Lipids
• Proximal part of jejunum is the major site of
absorption of products of lipid digestion.
• The monoacylglycerols, free fatty acids,
cholesterol and lysophospholipids combine with
bile salt micelles and form mixed micelles.
• These mixed micelles carry the products of lipid
digestion to the brush border of mucosal cells
where they are absorbed into intestinal
epithelium.
• Under normal conditions over 98% of dietary
lipid is absorbed.
Fate of absorbed lipids in the intestine.
FA-Fatty acid
Action of pancreatic lipase. Fatty acids (FA) are cleaved from
positions 1 and 3 of the triacylglycerol, and a
monoacylglycerol with a fatty acid at position 2 is produced.

Action of pancreatic esterases

 Disorders of Lipid Absorption
1. Chyluria

It is characterized by excretion of milky urine.

It is due to abnormal connection between

urinary tract and lymphatics of small intestine.

 It is also called as chylous fistula.

 It disappears when dietary fat is replaced

with fat containing short chain and medium
chain fatty acids.
2. Congenital abeta lipoproteinemia

It is of genetic origin.

Triglycerides accumulates in intestinal

cells due to lack of apo B-48 required for
lipoprotein formation (chylomicrons).
 4. Cholestasis
Lipid digestion and absorption is impaired in
intra or extra hepatic cholestasis due to non
availability of adequate amounts of bile salts,
phospholipids and cholesterol.

 In cholestatic patients, liquid crystal

vesicles are formed instead of mixed micelles.

Proper biliary secretion of phospholipid is

necessary for chylomicron formation in
enterocyte and secretion of lipids into lymph.
5. Essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD)

It occurs in cholestatic patients due to

malabsorption of lipids.

 EFAD during cholestasis itself can impair

efficient lipid absorption and transport.

Because proper biliary secretion of

phospholipid is necessary for formation of
mixed micelles and chylomicrons.
Thank you