PHYSIOLOGY OF THE DIGESTIVE
SYSTEM
Prof. A.L. Azin
DEFINITIONS:
• 1. Digestion is a complex of processes that
provide mechanical, enzymatic processing of
nutrients, as a result of it polymeric
substances are converted into monomers and
acquire the ability to аbsorpbtion of nutrients
.
2.Absorption of nutrients
• Absorption is an independent physiological
process that assures the assimilation of
nutrients.
3. Nutrients
• There are biologically significant elements of foods that
human body needs. Without them, the body can not
live, so we can say that nutrients are irreplaceable and
they are divided into five types. Since these biological
substances are not produced by the body, they are used
together with food or with the help of bioadditives.
There is no such product that can fully give our body all
the nutrients that are needed for good growth and
healthy development. A total of 5 types of nutrients and
are divided into 2 groups: macronutrients and
micronutrients.
The main functions of the digestive tract
• 1.Secretory function - providing digestive
juices (saliva, gastric, pancreatic, intestinal,
bile) by secretory cells and producing
ferments and other factors (or substances)
that ensure their high activity and are
necessary for the hydrolysis of food polymers.
2. Motor-evacuation or motor function
• Is carried out by the smooth musles of the
digestive organs and provides a change of the
aggregate state of the food, its grinding,
mixing with digestive juices and movement of
the himus in the oral-aboral direction.
3. The suction (absorptive function)
• Providing transfer of the final products of
digestion, water, salts and vitamins through
the mucous membrane from the cavity of the
digestive tract into the internal environment
of the body (blood and lymph).
4. Excretory
• Isolation from the body of certain metabolic
products (metabolites), salts of heavy metals,
medicinal substances et cet.
5.Endocrine function
• As a result of which specific cells of the
mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal
tract, as well as the pancreas, release
hormones that stimulate or inhibit the
functions of the digestive system.
6.Protective function
• Protective - provided by the barrier function
of the gastrointestinal tract, which protects
the body from pathology agents (bactericidal,
bacteriostatic and detoxication action).
7. Receptor (analyzer)function
• Due to the fact that the chemo- and
mechanoreceptor fields of internal surfaces of
the digestive organs can be common for the
reflex arches of visceral systems (discharge,
cardiovascular, excretory) and somatic
reflexes.
8. Hemopoiesis
• In addition, the digestive tract is involved in
hematopoiesis, since the gastric glands produce
the substance-Kastl's-factor internal factor
necessary for the absorbtion of cyanocobalamin
(vitamin B12), required for the normal maturation
of erythroblasts. The mucous membrane of the
stomach and small intestine, the liver (along with
the bone marrow and spleen are depot ferritin - a
protein compound of iron, involved in the
synthesis of hemoglobin.
TYPES OF DIGESTION
• 1.Distant (extracellular) - carried out in the cavities of the
intestine. Enzymes of digestive secretions acquire any
orientation with respect to molecules of nutrients. Dissolved in
the aquatic environment, their active centers are located in
different ways, therefore, the hydrolysis of polymers is random
(probabilistic). Therefore, the intensity of hydrolysis is low.
• 2. Intracellular - enzymes are located in cell vacuoles. The
source of enzymes are lysosomes. Example - phagocytosis.
• 3. Membrane, parietal, contact. Enzymes are located on the
membranes of the villi of the intestine, their active centers are
located in the direction of food substances. Therefore,
hydrolysis proceeds as intensively as possible.
Membrane digestion
• Membrane, or parietal, or contact D.
discovered in the late 50-ies of the 20-th
century in Russia.
• Prof. Ugolev Alexander Mikhailovich - is a
famous scientist ho was the first in discovering
the membrane digestion.
The monograph of AM Ugolev
You must know that the inner surface of the
small intestine consists of villies
Enterocytes
Enterocytes
The role of membrane digestion
• The share of membrane
digestion accounts for
approximately 70% of the total
volume of hydrolysis in the
organs of the digestive system!!!
.
Trophology – is the science of nutrition of
organisms is based on paradigms
• The paradigm is (from the
Greek Παράδειγμα) "example,
model, pattern" of something,
a scheme of thinking. There
are classic and modern
paradigm of nutrition.
Food
• Food is a complex mixture of
inorganic and organic substances
that are received by organisms from
the environment and used to build
and renew tissues, maintain vital
functions, and replenish consumed
energy.
Classical theory:
• For the theory of balanced nutrition, it is important
that food consists of several basic components:
• 1) the actual nutrients - proteins, carbohydrates,
fats, vitamins, etc .;
• 2) ballast substances (fibers);
• 3) harmful (toxic) compounds. If the valuable part
of the food is the nutrients necessary for
metabolism, then the food in accordance with the
classical theory can be purified from the ballast.
19-th century -
The classical paradigm:
• Food - consists of proper
nutritional substances -
proteins, carbohydrates,
fats, vitamins, etc.
BALLAST
• BALLAST IS THE FIBER OF VEGETABLE OR
ANIMAL ORIGIN OF OUR FOOD, DO NOT HAVE
AN ENERGY VALUE, THEREFORE, DO NOT BE
USED BY ORGANISM AND REMOVED BY THE
INTESTINE.
• Therefore, food producers began to refine the
products by eliminating them from the fibers
began to sell refined products such as sugar,
sweets, etc.
Therefore, in the 20th century, new
diseases appeared:
• Metabolic syndrome, diabetes
mellitus, atherosclerosis,
hypertension, myocardial
infarction, stroke, allergy,
oncological diseases, etc.
Modern research has shown that fibers in
food are needed:
• Fibers adsorbs the food toxins;
• Fibers adsorbs excess of the
cholesterol;
• Fibers stimulates intestinal motility;
• Therefore, when passing through the
digestive system, the fibers protect the
body from the above listed diseases
Diseases
• Atherosclerosis
• Diabetes mellitus
• Hypertonia
• Stroke, infurctum
• Oncology diseases
• Metabolic syndrome (MS)
• Et cet.
A modern paradigm of adequate nutrition
(prof.Ugolev)
Physiological basis of the
“eating behavior”
• Why do we want or do not want to
eat?
• This issue is of great practical
importance for the prevention and
treatment of diabetes mellitus,
obesity, metabolic syndrome.
Food behavior
• Food behavior is controlled by
the centers of hunger and
saturation by the middle part
of the hypothalamus.
• The executive systems of food behavior are
the hormones of the thyroid and pancreas,
adrenal glands, gonads and efferent part of
the VNS, ABDOMINAL FAT.
• With obesity in men decreases the production
of testosterone and increases the content of
globulins, binding sex hormones, which
reduces the sexual desire.
• In women with obesity, testosterone
production increases with adrenal cortex
(hirsutism and menstrual dysfunction)
Abdominal fat
• Abdominal fat (fat cells - adipocytes) is an
active endocrine organ - a place of synthesis of
many hormones and BAS: leptin, resistin,
adiponectin et cet.
• It is expected that the study of these factors
will allow the creation of new medicinal
substances for the treatment of diabetes and
MS
Thank you for attention!
