Physiology of Digestion

• Food: Most of humans beings are omnivorous

in diet.
• The process by which food is broken down
into simple chemical compounds
– that can be absorbed and used as nutrients
– or eliminated by the body is called
digestion.
• The entry of food into the alimentary canal
through the mouth is called ingestion.
• Propulsion refers to the movement of food
through the digestive tract (swallowing &
peristalsis)
• Digestion occurs in 2 forms:
– Mechanical digestion
– Chemical digestion
• Mechanical digestion is a purely physical
process that does not change the chemical
nature of the food.
• It makes the food smaller to increase both
surface area and mobility (chewing & churning
of food 
• Chemical digestion of food occurs by enzymes
produced by glands and accessory organs of
the digestive system.
• Chemical digestion break down complex food
molecules into their chemical building blocks.
 In the Oral Cavity
• After ingestion, the food is chewed and mixed
with saliva.
• Saliva contains amylase that begins the
breakdown of carbohydrate into the disaccharide
maltose.
Carbohydrate + Amylase Maltose + Isomaltose
+ Limit Dextrin
• Food leaves the mouth into the oesophagus.
 Pharynx and Oesophagus
• The presence of the bolus in the pharynx
stimulates a wave of peristalsis.
• This propels the bolus through the
oesophagus to the stomach.
• The walls of the oesophagus are lubricated by
mucus.
• The cardiac sphincter guarding the entrance to
the stomach relaxes to allow the descending
bolus to pass into the stomach.
 In the Stomach
• When a meal has been eaten the food
accumulates in the stomach in layers.
• The last part of the meal remain in the Fundus
for some time.
• Numerous gastric glands secrete gastric juice
into the stomach.
• Gastric juice contains HCl, Pepsinogen and
Prorennin
 Action of Hydrochloric Acid
• The Hydrochloric acid present in the juice
acidifies the food.
• It stops the action of salivary amylase.
• It kills ingested microbes.
• Pepsinogens and prorennin are activated to
pepsins and rennin by HCl.
Pepsinogens + HCl Pepsins
Prorennin + HCl Rennin
 Action of Pepsin
• Pepsins already present in the stomach also
activates pepsinogens
Pepsins + Pepsinogens Pepsins
• Pepsin begin the digestion of proteins,
breaking them into Peptones and Proteoses.
Pepsin + Proteins Peptones + Proteoses
 Action of Rennin
• It digest milk protein (Casein).
• Rennin acts with casein converting into Para
casein.
• Para casein combines with Calcium and forms
calcium paracaseinate.
• Calcium paracaseinate is act upon by pepsin
and hydrolyses into Proteoses and peptones.
 Action of Rennin
Casein + Rennin Paracasein

Paracasein + Calcium Calcium Paracaseinate

Calcium Paracaseinate + Pepsin Peptones

+ Proteoses
• Semi digested food in stomach is called Chyme.
• Chyme is periodically sent into small intestine
through pyloric sphincter.
 In the Small Intestines
• When acid chyme passes into the small
intestine, it is mixed with pancreatic juice,
bile juice and intestinal juice.
•  The hormone Cholecystokinin (CCK) is
secreted by the duodenum.
• This stimulates contraction of the gall bladder
and relaxation of the hepatopancreatic
sphincter.
•  This enables the bile and pancreatic juice to
pass into the duodenum together.
 Digestion by Bile Juice
• Bile, secreted by the liver has a pH of 8 and
between 500 and 1000 ml are secreted daily.

• The bile salts emulsify fats in the small

intestine.
Bile salts + Fats Emulsified Fat
 Digestion by Pancreatic Juice
• Pancreatic juice is alkaline (pH 8) because it
contains significant quantities of bicarbonate
ions.
• Trypsinogen & chymotrypsinogen &
Procarboxypeptidase are inactive enzyme
precursors present in pancreatic juice.
• Trypsinogen is activated by enterokinase, an
enzyme in the Succus entericus, into Trypsin.
 Digestion by Pancreatic Juice
Trypsinogen + Enterokinase Trypsin
• Trypsin autocatalysis trypsinogen and other
proenzymes as follows:
Trypsinogen + Trypsin Trypsin
Chymotrypsinogen + Trypsin Chymotrypsin
Procarboxypeptidase + Trypsin Carboxypeptidase
• All these are proteolytic enzymes.
 Digestion by Pancreatic Juice
• Proteolytic enzymes converts proteins into
amino acids.
Proteins + Trypsin Amino Acids
Proteins + Chymotrypsin Amino Acids
Proteins + Carboxypeptidase Amino Acids
 Digestion by Pancreatic Juice
•  Pancreatic amylase converts carbohydrates into
maltose, isomaltose and Limit dextrin.
Carbohydrate + Amylase Maltose + Isomaltose
(Pancreatic) + Limit Dextrin
•  Lipase converts emulsified fats to fatty acids and
glycerol.
Emulsified fats + Lipase Fatty acids + glycerol
Digestion by Intestinal juice / Succus Entericus

• Alkaline intestinal juice (pH 7.8 to 8.0) assists in

further digestion of food.
• It has enzyme peptidase to hydrolyse peptones
and proteoses into amino acids.
Peptones / Proteoses + peptidase Amino acid
• Nucleosidase hydrolyses nucleic acids into simple
nucleotides.
DNA / RNA + Nucleosidase Simple Nucleotides
 Digestion by Intestinal juice
• Intestinal Lipase completes the digestion of
emulsified fats to fatty acids and glycerol.
Emulsified fats + Lipase Fatty acids + glycerol
• Sucrase, maltase, and lactase complete the
digestion of carbohydrates by converting
disaccharides such as sucrose, maltose, and
lactose to monosaccharide.
 Digestion by Intestinal juice
Maltose + Maltase Glucose + Glucose
Isomaltose + Isomaltase Glucose + Glucose
Limit Dextrin + Limit Dextrinase Glucose
Sucrose + Sucrase Glucose + Fructose
Lactose + Lactase Glucose + Galactose
• Some persons show lactose intolerance as
they have decrease amount of lactase enzyme
due to age factor.
 In the Small Intestines
• Thus, in the small intestine the digestion of all
the nutrients is completed:
– carbohydrates are broken down to
monosaccharide
– proteins are broken down to amino acids
– fats are broken down to fatty acids and
glycerol.
• The fully digested and alkaline food present in
the small intestine is called chyle.