AFRICA MEDICAL COLLEGE

BY
EPREM MAMO

BSc in Chemistry AAU, MSc in Leadership Management

AAU and MSc in Medical Biochemistry AAU

01/02/2023 1
Digestion & Absorption of
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate Digestion
• More than 60 of human diet is
carbohydrate
%
• Principal dietary carbohydrates of human:
– Plant polysaccharides: Starch & Cellulose
– Animal polysaccharide: Glycogen
– Disaccharides: Sucrose & Lactose
– Free monosaccharides: Glucose & Fructose
• All dietary carbohydrates are
digested mainly to Glucose, Galactose &
Fructose
– Exception: Cellulose, which is not digested
2
 Cont…
• Carbohydrate Digestion in the Mouth
– Digestion of starch & glycogen starts in
the mouth
• Salivary α-amylase
– Produced by cells in the back of mouth
– Works at optimum PH of 6.7
– Activated by Chloride ion
– Hydrolyzesα-(14)-glycosidic linkages
of starch
and glycogen
– Major hydrolysis products:
» Small amounts of free glucose
» Large amounts of maltose and iso-maltose
3
» Large amounts of α-dextrins
 Cont…
• Carbohydrate Digestion in the Stomach
– No enzyme in the stomach for carbohydrate
digestion
– However, action of salivary α-amylase continues
for about 20 minutes
– After 20 minutes, stomach HCl:
• Penetrates the food materials
• Deactivates the enzyme by lowering the PH optimum
– Due to HCl penetrations, the stomach contents
now become more acidic

4
 Cont…
• Carbohydrate Digestion in the Small
Intestine
– Acidic stomach contents pass into small
intestine
• Pancreatic α-amylase
– Produced by pancreas
– Works at optimum PH= 7.1
– Activated by chloride ion
– Supported by bicarbonate ions secreted
from the
pancreas
» Raises PH to range of optimum pH for
pancreatic α-amylase
– Hydrolyzes α-(14)-glycosidic linkages b/n mono-
 Cont…
– Major hydrolysis products:
• Large amounts
» Free Glucose
» Maltose
» Iso-maltose
» Tri-saccharide: Malto-triose
• Small amounts of α-dextrins
– Intestinal enzymes
• Produced by intestinal mucosal cells localized to
intestinal brush borders
• Work at optimum PH of 6.1
• Supported by bicarbonate ions secreted from the
pancreas
– Raises PH to range of optimum pH for intestinal
enzymes 6
 Cont…
• Intestinal enzymes act up on:
– Major hydrolysis products of pancreatic α-amylase:
• Maltose
• Iso-maltose •Maltase (α-(14)-Glucosidase)
• Malto-triose •Isomaltase (α-(16)-Glucosidase)
• α-dextrins
– Dietary disaccharides:
• Sucrose •Sucrase (Invertase)
• Lactose •Lactase
• Major hydrolysis products:
– Glucose
– Galactose
– Fructose 7
Overview of Carbohydrate Digestion 8
Carbohydrate Absorption & Transportation
• Major products of intestinal
hydrolysis
enzymes:
– Glucose
Galactose
– Fructose
• Taken up into absorptive epithelial cells of
small intestine
– Protein-mediated:
» Na+-dependent active transport
» Facilitative diffusion
• Transported into blood
• Circulate to liver and peripheral tissues
– Protein-mediated facilitative diffusion 9
 Cont…
• For active transport of mono-sugars:
– Structure Hexose ring
– -OH group at C-2  Right side
• Glucose & Galactose
– Taken up by protein mediated
Na+-dependent active transport
• Fructose & Glucose (sometimes)
– Taken up by protein mediated facilitative diffusion
• Facilitative diffusion of mono-sugars:
– Mediated by tissue-specific glucose
transport (GLUT) protein families
– Type of GLUT found in each cell reflects
the role of glucose metabolism in that cell
10
Five GLUT-Families & Their tissue distribution

11
Mono-sugars uptake & transport across
small intestinal mucosal cells 12
Fates of Mono-sugars after Absorption &
Transport into Liver & Peripheral
•Tissues
Inside liver cells
– Galactose & Fructose Glucose & Glucose
intermediates
• Hepatic glucose
– Catabolized (via glycolysis & pentose
shunt)
– Stored in form of glycogen
– Channeled via systemic circulation to peripheral
tissues
• Peripheral Glucose
– Catabolized (via glycolysis & pentose shunt)
13
–
Carbohydrate digestion & absorption defects
• Lactose intolerance
– Congenital or acquired lactase deficiency
– Lactose is neither digested nor absorbed
• Directly passes into large intestinal lumen
– Results in the following conditions.
» Abdominal distension & cramp
• Bacteria in the large
intestinal lumen ferment lactose &
produce CO2 gas
» Diarrhea & dehydration
• Lactose possess increasedosmotic
pressure
(holds more H2O)
– Congenital Na+-dependent carrier protein defect
• Monosaccharide mal-absorption
– Affects only glucose and galactose absorption
– Fructose absorption is not affected 14
Thank
you!

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