DIGESTION AND

ABSORPTION OF LIPIDS
QUESTION CLASS
QUESTION 1

• Name the major dietary lipids?

 The major dietary lipids are-

Triacylglycerol (TAG) (more than 90%)

Cholesterol

Phospholipids

Free fatty acids

QUESTION 2

• What are the major problems in Lipid digestion?

 MAJOR PROBLEMS IN LIPID
DIGESTION
• Lipids are insoluble in aqueous solution

• The digestive enzymes for lipids are present in aqueous medium

• Triglycerides tend to form large droplets in water that provide only a

small surface area for enzymatic attack

• The digestive process is limited to lipid-water interface.

QUESTION 2

• Name the process by which these problems can be

overcome?
• These problems can be overcome by-

Increasing the surface area of lipids for digestion (?)

Emulsification of lipids (?)

Solubilizing the digested products for absorption (?)

• These problems can be overcome by-

Increasing the surface area of lipids for digestion (Chylomicron

formation)

Emulsification of lipids (Bile salts)

Solubilizing the digested products for absorption (Lipases)

Lipases hydrolyze the glycerol/fatty acid bonds primarily at position 1 and
3, the end products are 2-monoacylglycerol and free fatty acids
QUESTION 3

• Where does digestion of lipids begin?

 MOUTH

• A small fraction of dietary triglycerides are digested by an acid-stable

“LINGUAL LIPASE”

• It is secreted by glands at the base of tongue

QUESTION 4

• How are lipids digested in the stomach?

• Name the enzyme secreted in the stomach?
• “GASTRIC LIPASE” is secreted by the chief cells of stomach

• The lipase continues to hydrolyze short chain triglycerides (SCT) in

stomach

• SCTs are present in milk, butter, ghee

• So, the action of these lipases are significant in newborns

QUESTION 5

• How are lipids digested in the Intestine? (2

mechanisms)
1. Role of Bile salts

2. Role of pancreatic enzymes

QUESTION 6

• What is the role of Bile salts in the intestine for

digestion of Lipids
 EMULSIFICATION

• It is a process of dispersion of
lipids into small droplets by
reducing the surface tension

• This process provides more

surface area for lipases to act.
• Bile salts are amphipathic in nature, i.e. they have a
polar portion (termed head) and a non-polar portion
(called tail).

• The polar heads form a hydrophilic coating on surface of

the lipid particles which face the aqueous exterior.

• The non-polar tails, on the other hand, extend into the

interior of these

• As a result, the surface area of the lipid-water interphase,

on which the digestive enzymes can act, is increased
several folds.
QUESTION 7

• What is the role of pancreatic enzymes in the digestion

of Lipids
• Pancreatic enzymes are secreted in an inactive precursor form,
prolipase, along with its cofactor, called colipase.

• Three enzymes which digest the lipids are-

 Pancreatic Lipase (For TGL)

Cholesterol esterase (Cholesterol esters)

Phospholipase A2 (Phospholipids)
QUESTION 8

• What are the end-products of lipid digestion?

 Following are the end-products of lipid digestion-

Free fatty acids

2-MAG

1-MAG

Glycerol

Free cholesterol

Lysophospholipids
QUESTION 9

• How does absorption of lipids take place?

• The TAGs having short chain fatty acids directly enter the portal
circulation.

• Some short chain fatty acids of chain length 6-10 carbon atoms do not
even need esterification in the cells and can directly enter the portal
circulation.
• Monoglycerides and free fatty acids
aggregate with bile salts to form water-
miscible “MICELLES”

• These micelles also contain free

cholesterol

• Being small and diffusible, the micelles

easily pass through microvillar
membrane to enter mucosal cells
QUESTION 10

• Difference between CHYLOMICRON and

MICELLES?