Carbohydrate Digestion Flashcards
What are simple carbohydrates with one sugar called?
Monosaccharides
What are the three important monosaccharides?
Glucose, Fructose, Galactose
Define glucose in terms of monosaccharides
Known as blood sugar, it is one of two sugars in every disaccharide
Define fructose in terms of monosaccharides
The sweetest sugar
Define galactose in terms of monosaccharides
Occurs naturally in a few foods
Why do the three monosaccharides have different sweetness levels?
The same number of atoms, but their different arrangements is what causes the different levels of sweetness
What are the three important disaccharides?
Maltose, lactose, sucrose
What is a disaccharide made up of?
One sugar molecule (glucose) plus one other
What is the disaccharide maltose made up of and what is it the product of?
Made up of two glucose units, and is the product of the starch breakdown
What is the disaccharide lactose made up of and where is it mostly found?
Made up of one glucose unit and one galactose unit. Mostly found in milk
What is the disaccharide sucrose made up of and what food is it found in?
Made up of one glucose unit and one fructose unit. It is the sweetest sugar and found in fruit, refined table sugar.
Many glucose units in a medium-chain are called:
Oligosaccharide
Long-chain of many glucose units:
Polysaccharide
What are the two components of starch?
Amylose and amylopectin
Glycogen is:
Branch chain glucose
Why is glycogen in a branch formation?
Makes it easy for enzymes to work quickly and break it down in the liver so it can then be released as glucose into the bloodstream
When food is in the mouth, what enzyme in the mouth is involved and what occurs?
Salivary amylase, which breaks down the bonds between monomeric sugar units of disaccharides, oligosaccharides and starches.
What is the other function of salivary amylase?
Breaks down amylose and amylopectin into smaller chains of glucose (dextrins and maltose)
What enhances the sweetness of food in the mouth?
Maltose concentration
Why does no further chemical breakdown occur in the stomach once the food is ingested?
The acidic environment of the stomach means that amylase is inactivated
What are the carbohydrates turned into a mixture of in the stomach?
A mixture of chyme (acidic juices and food)
What does the pancreas do once the food has reached the small intestine?
Releases pancreatic juice that contains pancreatic amylase, which breaks down dextrins into shorter carb chains
What enzymes are secreted by the intestinal cells?
Sucrase, maltase and lactase
What bond does sucrase break?
Breaks sucrose into glucose and fructose molecules