Secretion, Chemical Digestion And Absorption Flashcards
What are the six essential nutrients?
- carbohydrates
- fats
- water
- proteins
- vitamins
- minerals
What are the major nutrients?
- carbohydrates = sugar chains = sucrose, maltose, lactose
- proteins = amino acid chains
- fats = triglycerides
What are carbohydrates broken down into?
- galactose
- fructose
- glucose
What are proteins broken down into?
- dipeptides
- tripeptides
- amino acids
What are triglycerides broken down into?
- monoglyceride
- free fatty acids
What is chemical digestion?
Breaking down food with enzymes into molecules that can be absorbed
What is absorption?
Moving the digested molecules through the gastrointestinal epithelium and into the blood or lymph
Digestion of carbohydrates and fat in the mouth:
- salivary glands secrete saliva
- 1-2L a day
- 99.5% water, 0.5% electrolytes, mucus or proteins
- softens & moistens food
- allows for taste = dissolved food chemicals
- lubrication = via mucus
- defence = antibacterial lysozyme & antibodies
Digestion of starch and fat:
- salivary amylase converts starch to = maltose, maltotriose, limit dextrin
- these are denatured by the stomach acid
- salivary lipase converts triglycerides to = monoglycerides and free fatty acids
- makes up 10% of lipid digestion
- optically active in acid
No digestion or absorption happens in the oesophagus - why?
- oesophagus secretes mucus
- this is the only secretion in the oesophagus
- it is secreted by mucus-secreting gland cells in the mucosa
- this lubricates the passage of food
- prevents damage to oesophageal wall by coarse food materials
- protects the wall from acid & enzymes into the gastric juice, if gastric reflux occurs
Secreted throughout the stomach:
Mucus & bicarbonate = by surface mucosa & neck cells
Pepsinogen = by chief cells
Secreted in the fundus & body:
Hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor = by parietal cells
Histamine = by enterochromaffin-like cells
Secreted in the fundus only:
Lipase = by chief cells
Secreted in the pyloric gland:
Gastrin = by g cells
Somatostatin = by d cells
Gastric exocrine secretions:
- mucus
- hydrochloric acid
- digestive enzymes
- intrinsic factor
- Mucus
- protective barrier against injury to the gastric mucosa
- lubricative function
- protects the stomach wall from self-digestion by inhibiting pepsin
- rich in bicarbonate ion, helps protect against acid injury by neutralising hydrochloric acid
- Hydrochloric acid
- hydrogen ions are actively transported by the h+ k- at phase = proton pump
- in the membrane of parietal cells
- this lowers the stomach ph to 1.5-2
- this converts pepsinogen to pepsin, provides an acid medium which is ideal for pepsin activity
- denatures proteins = it exposes more peptide bonds, for enzymatic attack by pepsin
- breaks down plant cell walls, connective tissue & meat fibre
- this means it reduces large food particles into smaller ones
- kills bacteria & microorganisms in food
- Digestive enzymes
- pepsin
- pepsinogen
- gastric lipase
Pepsinogen:
- constituent of gastric secretion
- stored in the cytoplasm
- secreted into gastric lumen by chief cells
- it is an inactive enzyme
- converted to active form = pepsin = by hydrochloric acid in the gastric lumen
Pepsin:
- active enzyme
- breaks peptide bonds between tyrosine & phenylalanine
- produces peptide fragments & some single amino acids
- works best in an acidic environment
- denatured in ph of small intestine
- acts on pepsinogen to produce even more pepsin
Gastric lipase:
- secreted with pepsinogen by chief cells
- breaks down triglycerides
- best active in acidic conditions
- Intrinsic factor
- essential for absorption of vitamin B12
- important for normal functioning of red blood cells
Gastric endocrine & paracrine secretions:
- Gastrin stimulates hydrochloric acid & histamine secretion
- histamine acts with Gastrin to stimulate hydrochloric acid release
- somatostatin acts locally to reduce gastric secretion
- gastrointestinal motility & inhibiting the secretion of hormones = Gastrin & secretin’s role
Chemical digestion in the stomach - protein digestion:
- catalysed by pepsin, helped by hydrochloric acid
- produces peptide fragments and some amino acids
- 10-15% of protein digestion