BIO - TERMS - NUTRIENT Flashcards
Abiotic stress
Physical environmental factors that influence plant growth and development including light, temperature, pH or available nutrients.
alimentary
(al-i-men′ter-ē) Relating to food or nutrition.
Allochthonous
Indicates that food sources are imported into an ecosystem, e.g., leaves from trees imported into a stream. Alternatively used to describe microorganisms adapted to a rapid growth rate.
amylase
Enzyme found in saliva and pancreatic juice that digests amylose and straight chains in amylopectin.
anaerobic sludge digester
Anaerobic digestion used in secondary sewage treatment.
anorexia nervosa
A psychiatric disorder characterized by an obsession with food, an intense fear of gaining weight, and voluntary maintenance of weight at below-normal levels.
aseptic packaging
Commercial food preservation by filling sterile containers with sterile food.
Autochthonous
Indicates that food sources are produced within an ecosystem. Alternatively used to describe microorganisms adapted to a slow growth but maintenance energy.
Biodeterioration
Deterioration of materials (minerals, wood biological and synthetic polymers, etc.) by the action of microorganisms. Results can be the acceleration of mineral weathering, rotting of wood, impairment of synthetic polymers by degradation of plasticizers, increasing brittleness, staining, and hydrating.
bioenergetics
The process by which the body converts foods such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into a biologically useable form of energy.
bioenhancer
Nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate that promote microbial growth.
biological value (BV)
The amount of nitrogen from protein digested, absorbed, and used by the body but not excreted.
Biostimulation
A kind of active bioremediation where nutrients and/or electron acceptors/donors are added to promote desired microorganisms.
body composition
The relative contributions to a person’s mass made by different substances or tissues. Body composition can be broken down in various ways, such as fat mass and fat-free mass, or as water, bone mineral mass, other fat-free mass, and fat mass.
bolus
(bō′lŭs) A single quantity of something, such as a mass of food swallowed.
Bottom-up proteomics
Analytical strategy in proteomics employing protein fragmentation into peptides by enzymatic digestion followed by (usually mass spectrometry) (DS) analysis of the resulting peptides and reconstruction of the protein structure.
bulimia nervosa
A psychiatric disorder characterized by large, uncontrolled eating binges followed by compensatory behavior, such as forced vomiting.
butyrate
A short chain fatty acid produced abundantly by anaerobic digestion of carbohydrates in the intestine by commensals that can influence host cells in several ways, acting as an energy source for enterocytes and as an inhibitor of histone deacetylases.
cAMP receptor protein (CRP)
In bacteria, a specific regulatory protein that controls initiation of transcription of the genes that produce the enzymes required for the cell to use some other nutrient when glucose is lacking; also called catabolite gene activator protein (CAP).
capillarization
An increase in the capillary networks that bring oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of the body.
Carnivorous plants
Plants that attract, trap, and digest prey followed by nutrient absorption.
celiac disease
A chronic condition of the upper small intestine caused by an immune response directed at gluten, a complex of proteins present in wheat, oats, and barley. The gut wall becomes chronically inflamed, the villi are destroyed, and the gut’s ability to absorb nutrients is compromised.
celiac sprue
Autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that leads to diarrhea, abdominal distension, and malabsorption of nutrients. Sometimes used interchangeably with gluten-sensitive enteropathy.
chyme
(kı̄m) Mixture of partially digested food and gastric juice within the gastrointestinal tract.
clay
A powdered form of a mineral (such as an aluminosilicate) mixed with water.
Connectance
Ratio of observed to total number of possible links in food web.
continuous flow
An industrial fermentation in which cells are grown indefinitely with continual addition of nutrients and removal of waste and products.
Copper
A trace mineral; present in many enzymes that use molecular oxygen as a substrate.
cotranslation
The addition of a mineral-containing amino acid through the process of translation in polypeptide synthesis via a triplet codon. In most cases, this refers to the addition of selenocysteine to a polypeptide.
culture medium
The nutrient material prepared for growth of microorganisms in a laboratory.
DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan
A diet developed in conjunction with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to control high blood pressure. The diet is low in sodium and encourages the consumption of nuts, whole grains, fish, poultry, fruits, and vegetables while lowering the consumption of red meats, sweets, and sugar. It is also abundant in potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
Detritus food chain
Based on the consumption of dead organic matter.
dietary fiber
A class of carbohydrates that is resistant to digestion.
dietary folate equivalent
A unit of measure used to indicate the conversion of folic acid to folate. Folic acid is more potent than the folate that occurs naturally in foods, so the amount of folic acid consumed is multiplied by a factor of 1.7 to give the dietary folate equivalent.
dissimilation
A metabolic process in which nutrients are not assimilated but are excreted as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and so on.
electron carrier
A protein, such as a flavoprotein or a cytochrome, that can reversibly gain and lose electrons; functions in the transfer of electrons from organic nutrients to oxygen or some other terminal acceptor.
Endosperm
Nutritive tissue that develops in the embryo sac of most angiosperms. It usually forms after the fertilization of the two fused primary endosperm nuclei of the embryo sac with one of the two male gamete nuclei. In most diploid plants, the endosperm is triploid (3n).
enteric division
A division of the autonomic nervous system that innervates the digestive organs; consists of the myenteric and submucous plexuses.
enterocyte
A cell lining the wall of the small intestine that is involved in the absorption of nutrients.
Exploitation ecosystem hypothesis (EEH)
Nutrient limited habitats support small herbivore populations.
fixing
(1) In slide preparation, the process of attaching a specimen to a slide. (2) Regarding chemical elements, combining elements so that a critical element can enter the food chain. See also Calvin-Benson cycle; nitrogen fixation.
fluoridation
The addition of the mineral fluoride to water to help prevent dental caries.
Food chain
Linear sequence of transfer of food from one organism to another.
Food web
A system of interconnected food chains.
functional fiber
A fiber that consists of isolated, nondigestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiologic effects in humans.
functional food
A food that provides health benefits beyond basic nutrition.
gangue
The undesirable minerals that are separated from specific ores.
Gastric bypass
A type of bariatric surgery in which the upper portion of the stomach is stapled to prevent food from entering the distal portion of the stomach, and an opening is created from the stomach to the small intestine in which a portion of the duodenum is bypassed to decrease absorption. Roux-En-Y bypass is another name.
Gastric sleeve
A type of bariatric surgery in which a portion of the stomach is stapled so that food passes from the esophagus, through the stomach sleeve, and enters the small intestine.
ghrelin
A peptide secreted by cells in the stomach that stimulates appetite by activating orexigenic neurons in the hypothalamus.
goitrogen
A substance, normally present in food, that interferes with iodine utilization by the thyroid gland.
Grazing food chain
Based on consumption of living primary producers.