LIFE’S

MAINTENANCE
SYSTEMS
LESSON 6
THE NEED TO TAKE IN
FOOD
The energy stored in food is required for
the vital activities of any living
organism, such as movement, growth
and development, repair of worn-out
tissues, reproduction and synthesis of
new protoplasm of our cells.
 Metabolism
Referrers to all the
chemical reactions that take
place inside an organism’s
body. The intake of food
from various sources and
the processes that convert
food substances into living
matter are known as
nutrition.
ANIMAL NUTRITION
Plants and other
photosynthetic
organisms can produce
their own food by
converting inorganic
components into organic
molecules, and thus are
called autotrophs or self-
feeders
Animals, on the other hand, are called heterotrophs because
they must consume organic molecules from other organisms
for nutrition. Animals eat other organisms, either dead or
alive, in pieces or whole, to provide them with the nutrients
they need to maintain general health and well-being.
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HERBIVORE
S

An herbivore is an
organism that mostly
feeds on plants
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CARNIVORE
S
A carnivore is an
organism that mostly
eats meat, or the flesh of
animals. Sometimes
carnivores are called
predators.
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OMNIVORES
An omnivore is a specie
that has the ability to eat
and survive on both
plant and animal matter.
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Detritivores
A detritivore is an organism
that eats dead or decaying
plants or animals as food.
Detritivores include
microorganisms such as
bacteria and larger
organisms such as fungi,
insects, worms, and some
crustaceans.
TYPES OF DIGESTIVE
SYSTEMS IN
ANIMALS
Single-celled organisms process their food
right inside their cells. This digestion process,
known as intracellular digestion, which
happens inside the cells through food
vacuoles
Higher forms of animals developed some
specialization and evolved into having a more
complex alimentary canal that contains one-
way tubes with different openings for the
mouth and anus.
The ingested food stays at different
compartments or regions of the digestive tract
where ingestion, storage, digestion, and
absorption of nutrients take place. Molecules
that are not needed by the body are excreted
out as waste materials from the anus.
In humans, the
digestive system is
not only composed of
an alimentary canal
but also glands, such
as salivary glands,
pancreas, gallbladder,
and liver that assist in
the digestive process.
Most of the nutrition
of higher vertebrate
animals are linked
to the consumption
of cellulose present
in plants.
Herbivores, such as cows, cattles, goats, deers, and
other ruminants, have a large stomach that is divided
into four chambers (foregut fermentation) where they
sequentially process the digestion of the grass.
The plant material first enters the rumen
Next, the food is then transferred to the reticulum
The finely processed food enters the omasum for
further mechanical digestion.
The mass of food is now ready to enter the abomasum
 FEEDING
MECHANISM IN
ANIMALS
FILTER FEEDING
In this mechanism, the organism filters small
food particles or organisms. This is seen in
aquatic animals and is also known as suspension
feeders.
baleen plates
 SUBSTRATE FEEDING

In this mechanism,
the organism lives on
or inside their food
source and feeds
through the soft
tissues.
 FLUID FEEDING

In this mechanism,
organism feeds on
fluids such as
blood in animals
and nectar in
plants.
BULK FEEDING

In this mechanism,
organisms eat large
pieces of food by using
body parts like claws,
tentacles, and teeth.
NUTRIENT UPTAKE
IN CELLS AMONG
ANIMALS
macromolecules, like proteins and other large
particles, cannot enter and exit the cell through
carrier proteins, and this requires bulk transport
mechanism.
Large molecules enter the cell through the
process called endocytosis, wherein the cell
membrane bends inward (invaginates),
forming a vesicle that contains the
macromolecule to be transported.
There are three types of endocytosis
depending on the kind of macromolecule
that needs to be transported:
phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor-
mediated endocytosis.
 PHAGOCYTOSIS

Is a cellular process
for ingesting and
eliminating particles
larger than 0.5 μm in
diameter
 PINOCYTOSIS

Is a process by
which the cell takes
in the fluids along
with dissolved
small molecules.
 RECEPTOR – MEDIATED
ENDOCYTOSIS
Is a form of
endocytosis in which
receptor proteins on
the cell surface are
used to capture a
specific target
molecule.
STAGES OF FOOD
PROCESSING
The first stage involves ingestion

Or the act of
eating or taking
in food via the
mouth cavity.
 The second stage is digestion
Which involves the
mechanical and chemical
breakdown of large food
molecules into soluble or
diffusible molecules that
can be absorbed by the
cells
The third stage involves absorption
Where the small
molecules, now in the
form of building
blocks, will be
absorbed by the lining
of the digestive tract.
 The last stage is elimination

Whereby un/digested
food is removed from
the digestive tract.
HUMAN DIGESTIVE
SYSTEM
The human digestive system is
composed of a tubular alimentary
canal and its accessory glands.
Here, the mucin in saliva helps to soften the
food while the teeth play an important role in
physical digestion by masticating food and
breaking it down into smaller pieces.
The enzyme present
in the saliva, known
as salivary amylase,
also begins the
chemical digestion of
food.
Muscle layers surrounding the esophagus cause
rhythmic, wavelike contractions known as
peristalsis, which move food along the gut.
The gastric glands are composed of
two types of secretory cells
The parietal cells – secretes hydrochloric
acid.

The chief cells - secrete pepsinogen

EVERY PARTS OF THE
DIGESTIVE TRACT
 Mouth
The digestive process starts
in your mouth when you
chew. Your salivary glands
make saliva, a digestive
juice, which moistens food
so it moves more easily
through your esophagus into
your stomach.
Esophagus

After you swallow,

peristalsis pushes the
food down your
esophagus into your
stomach
Stomach

Glands in your stomach

lining make stomach
acid and enzymes that
break down food.
Muscles of your
stomach mix the food
with these digestive
juices.
 Pancreas
Your pancreas makes a
digestive juice that has
enzymes that break
down carbohydrates,
fats, and proteins.
 Liver
Your liver makes a
digestive juice called
bile that helps digest
fats and some
vitamins.
Gallbladder

Your gallbladder
stores bile between
meals. When you eat,
your gallbladder
squeezes bile through
the bile ducts into your
small intestine.
 Small Intestines
Your small intestine makes
digestive juice, which
mixes with bile and
pancreatic juice to
complete the breakdown of
proteins, carbohydrates,
and fats.
Large Intestines

In your large intestine,

more water moves from
your GI tract into your
bloodstream. Bacteria in
your large intestine help
break down remaining
nutrients and make vitamin
K.
 NUTRITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS OF
ANIMALS
Mammals, in particular, share common
nutritional requirements needed to stay
healthy and maintain normal physiological
processes.
Health and food scientists continue to
conduct studies on the proper nutrition
and lifestyle to prolong life expectancy.
 Water
■ It is vital for all physiological processes
such as digestion, blood circulation and
waste elimination. Water is the medium
in which all the nutrients are dissolved.
■ Water regulates body temperature
through perspiration and evaporation. It
is important to supply fresh and clean
water to animals.
Protein

■ Is essential for healthy growth and

maintenance and reproduction. Amino acids,
the building blocks of protein are essential
for the formation of tissues.
 Carbohydrates
Are the main source of
energy for the regular
functioning of the body.
The main source of
carbohydrates in livestock
feed are grains such as
oats, wheat, barley, corn,
sorghum etc. forages and
hay.
 Fats
Fats act as
storehouses of
energy and also
insulate the body.
Oilseeds are the
main source of fats
in agriculture feeds.
Sunflower
Sesame
Soybean
Niger
Minerals
Categorized as
microminerals which are
required in smaller amounts
and macro minerals that are
required in larger amounts
by the body. Mineral intake
accounts for a smaller
proportion of the diet and
their excess intake would
result in toxicity.
Like minerals, vitamins are also required in
smaller amounts. They perform a wide array of
functions like metabolism, growth and
reproduction, red blood cell maturation,
digestion, bone and teeth formation.