Carbohydrate Digestion

1. Mouth.
Chewing starts
secretion of saliva
from salivary glands.
Saliva contains an
enzyme called
salivary amylase
which breaks down
starch into shorter
polysaccaharides
and maltos.
2. Stomach
Salivary amylase enzyme is
inactivated by stomach acid.
No carbohydrate digestion
takes place.
3. Pancreas
Pancreatic amylase is secreted
into small intestine, which
further breaks down remaining
starch.
4. Small intestine
Majority of carbohydrate
digestion occurs here. Maltase,
sucrose, and lactase break down
disaccharides into
monosaccharides. The
monosaccharides are absorbed
by the small intestine and enter
into the bloodstream.
5. Liver
The monosaccharides
travel in the
bloodstream to the
liver and are converted
to glucose, to be
transported to the cells
for energy.
The extra glucose is
stored in the liver as
glycogen.
6. Large intestine
Some carbohydrates pass into
the large intestine undigested.
Bacteria ferments the
undigested carbohydrates and
are excreted in the feces.


Lipid/Fat Digestion

1. Mouth
The salivary glands produce
the enzyme, lingual lipase.
This enzyme digests some
triglycerides but little lipid
digestion occurs.
2. Stomach
Majority of fat travels
to the stomach where it
is mixed and broken
into droplets. Gastric
lipase digests some
triglycerides.
3. Gallbladder/Pancreas
Secretion of cholecystokinin
or CCK and the duodenal
mucosal cells cause the
Gallbladder to contract. This
causes the Gallbladder to
release bile into the small
intestine. This causes the fat
to break into smaller droplets.
The pancreas releases an
enzyme that breaks
triglycerides into one
monoglyceride and two free
fatty acid.
4. Small intestine
Micelles transport lipid
digestion products to the
enterocytes of the small
intestine for absorption.



Protein Digestion


1. Mouth
Proteins are
crushed by chewing
and moistened by
saliva but no
digestions occurs.
2. Stomach
The proteins are denatured
by hydrochloric acid.
Pepsin is activated to break
protiens into single amino
acids and smaller
polypeptides.
4. Small intestine
Protease are secreted to digest
polypeptides into smaller units.
Cells in walls of the small intestine
complete the breakdown of all
polypeptides into single amino
acids.
These amino acids are then
transferred to the liver.
5. Liver
Once the amino acids
are in the liver, they
may be converted into
glucose or fat. These
can be combined to
build new proteins, be
used for energy or
released into the
bloodstream and
transported to other
cells as needed.
Carbohydrate
Digestion of Carbohydrates startes with the mouth. The stimulation that is caused by
chewing causes the salivary glands to secret saliva. Saliva containes an enzyme called salivary
amylase. This salivary amylase breaks starch into smaller particles and eventually into the
disaccharide maltose. This process continues from the mouth down to the stomach. The acid in
the stomach stops the digestion of carbohydrates. This is because the stomach acid inactivates
the salivary amylase enzyme. The process is then moved from the stomach to the small
intestine. The pancrease plays a role in digestion as it secretes an enzyme called pancreatic
amylase into the smll intestine. The pancreatic amylase continues to digest any remaining
starch into maltos. The microvilli of the mucosal cells that line the intestional track add
enzymes that break disaccharides into monosaccharies. Maltos is broken into glucose. Sucros is
broken into fructose and glucose. Lactos breaks down into glucose and galactose. All
monosaccharies are then absorbed into the mucosal cells lining, where they pass through and
enter the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the monosaccharies enter the liver. This is
where the fructos and galactos are converted into glucos to be immediately used for energy or
stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen for later use. Any undigested excess fiber is
fermented by bacteria and excreted in feces.
Fats
Fats are a vital component of the diet. While they are often perceived as a negative
element, they yield many positive benefits such as providing energy, serving as a major fuel
source during resting periods, fueling physical activity, storing energy, and enabling the
transport of fat-soluble vitamins.
Since fats are not soluble in water, their digestion in the body differs from carbohydrates and
proteins. Though limited, the digestion of fat begins in the mouth. Salivary glands in the mouth
produce an enzyme called lingual lipase that helps break down some triglycerides, fat
molecules containing three fatty acids connected to a three-carbon glycerol backbone. After
some chewing occurs, the limitedly digested fat reaches the stomach, where it is mixed and
broken down into smaller pieces from the gastric lipase. These pieces, which tend to float in the
stomachs digestive liquids since they cannot dissolve in water, then make their way to the
small intestine. However, since fats are not water-soluble, the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas
must create digestive enzymes and helpful compounds to aid digestion. Thus, as fats enter the
small intestine, the gallbladder contracts and emits bile, a substance (initially produced in the
liver from cholesterol) that acts like soap and helps break down fats into smaller pieces. Once
bile has broken the fat into smaller pieces, lipid-digesting enzymes from the pancreas go to the
small intestine and help break the fatty acids apart from their glycerol backbones. This results in
a broken down triglyceride molecule of two free fatty acids and one monoglyceride. Once all of
this has occurred, the free fatty acids and monglycerides are transferred to the mucosal cells
within the mucosal lining of the small intestine via a micelle, for absorption. To achieve
absorption of non water-soluble fats in the bloodstream, fatty acids are reformulated into
triglycerides and wrapped into lipoproteins (which are indeed water-soluble) to be released
into the bloodstream. As it circulates through the blood, it can serve as an energy source for
cells, be used to create lipid-comprising compounds for the body, or be stored in muscles or
adipose tissue as triglycerides for future use.
Proteins
Proteins are another extremely important component of the diet. They aid in cell
growth, repair and maintenance, act as enzymes and hormones, help sustain the balance of
fluid and electrolytes, and many other factors.
Unlike carbohydrates and fats, enzymatic digestion of proteins does not occur in the mouth.
Though proteins are torn apart in the mouth through chewing, and softened by saliva, primary
digestion begins in the stomach. In the stomach, protein strands are broken down by
hydrochloric acid, which also activates pepsin (an enzyme or essentially protein in the stomach)
to further separate proteins into single amino acids and smaller polypeptides. (The gastrin
hormone directs the production of hydrochloric acid and activation of pepsin). Subsequently,
these amino acids and polypeptides go to the small intestine. In the small intestine, the
pancreas and small intestine create enzymes called proteases that turn the polypeptides into
oligopeptides, tripeptides, dipeptides, and single amino acids. The single amino acids,
dipeptides and tripeptides are then absorbed by the cells of the small intestinal walls. All of the
polypeptides are broken down into single amino acids by enzymes in the intestinal cells. These
amino acids then travel to the liver through the portal vein. In the liver, the amino acids can be
converted to glucose or fat, combined to build new proteins, used for energy, or released into
the bloodstream to be delivered to other cells in need.