SEMESTER – IV

ZOO CC409
UNIT-1
 INTRODUCTION
• The gastrointestinal tract is basically a muscular tube that contains and processes food as it moves from the
mouth to the anus.
• The food material is complex and composed of carbohydrate, proteins, fats and other substances. These
complex materials are hydrolysed into simpler materials, with the help of enzymes for absorption by the
intestinal wall. Overall, the digestive system performs six basic processes:
• Ingestion: This process involves taking foods and liquids into the mouth (eating).
• Secretion: Each day, cells within the walls of the GI tract and accessory digestive organs secrete a total of
about 7 liters of water, acid, buffers, and enzymes into the lumen (interior space) of the tract.
• Motility: Alternating contractions and relaxations of smooth muscle in the walls of the GI tract mix food and
secretions and move them toward the anus. This capability of the GI tract to mix and move material along its
length is called motility.
• Digestion: Digestion is the process of breaking down ingested food into small molecules that can be used by
body cells.
• Absorption: The movement of the products of digestion from the lumen of the GI tract into blood or lymph
is called absorption.
• Defecation: Wastes, indigestible substances, bacteria, cells sloughed from the lining of the GI tract, and
digested materials that were not absorbed in their journey through the digestive tract leave the body
through the anus in a process called defecation.
The digestive system performs six basic processes: ingestion, secretion, motility, digestion,
absorption, and defecation.
 Physiology of Digestion
• Digestion is the process of breaking down ingested food into small molecules that can be used by
body cells. Digestion of food occurs in three phases and all these phases takes place in
coordination with each other. Three components of physiology of digestion are:
• Mechanical digestion
• Chemical digestion
• Hormonal control of digestive activities

• In mechanical digestion the teeth cut and grind food before it is swallowed, and then smooth
muscles of the stomach and small intestine churn the food to further assist the process. As a
result, food molecules become dissolved and thoroughly mixed with digestive enzymes.
• In chemical digestion the large carbohydrate, lipid, protein, and nucleic acid molecules in food are
split into smaller molecules by hydrolysis. Digestive enzymes produced by the salivary glands,
tongue, stomach, pancreas, and small intestine catalyse these catabolic reactions.
• Physiology of digestion is under strict action of hormones and different enzymes.
 CHEMICAL DIGESTION
Introduction
• Chemical digestion breaks down food as it moves through the digestive tract.
• Using enzymes and other digestive chemicals, the process reduces food particles into nutrient
molecules that can be absorbed.
Digestive chemicals - Types
• Most chemical digestion is done by the actions of digestive enzymes.
• Other important digestive chemicals are needed to maintain a proper environment for enzymatic
reactions, as well as other functions.
• These chemicals are: water, Bile , Gastric acid, Bicarbonate.
• Digestive chemicals - Enzymes
• The reactions in chemical digestion are enzyme mediated hydrolysis reactions.
• Water and enzymes break down the substrate into products.
• Most enzymes are identified by the substrate that they break down.
• For example, the enzyme dipeptidase breaks down dipepetide.
Digestive chemicals
Water
• Water is most abundant molecule in ingested fluids.
• Water plays a primary role in the hydrolytic digestive reactions.
• Help liquefy and transport digestive foodstuffs down the tract.
• Transport secretions from accessory digestive organs to GI
tract.
• Aids in the absorption of nutrients.

Gastric acid
• The stomach mucosa produces hydrochloric acid, a strong
acid
• Gastric acid breaks hydrogen bonds and alters the globular
shape of proteins to promote the :
• Production of pepsin , the gastric enzyme
• Destruction of microbial proteins.
• Enzymes more easily break down the resulting polypeptide into
smaller peptides.
Bile
• Bile is produced by the liver.
• Bile consists mostly of bile salts (produced from
cholesterol) and water.
• Primary functions of bile is emulsification of fatty globules.
• Emulsification facilitates efficient breakdown of fat molecule
by lipase enzymes.

Bicarbonate:
• Bicarbonate is secreted into the intestine to:
• Buffer the acidic chyme from the stomach and protect
intestinal mucosa.
• Promote an alkaline pH level in the small intestine to create
a proper environment for intestinal enzymes to function
normally.
 Carbohydrate digestion
• Digestion of complex carbohydrates (starches and
glycogen) involves:
• Amylases produced by the salivary glands and
pancreas.
• Brush-border enzymes in small intestine.

Carbohydrate digestion – mouth and stomach

• In the mouth, amylase from the parotid and

submandibular salivary glands begins carbohydrate
digestion.
• Salivary amylase converts starch and glycogen into
following products :
• Maltose (disaccharide)
• Maltotriose (trisaccharide)
• Alpha-dextrins (starch fragments)
• However, only a few starch or glycogen molecules are
completely digested into maltose before they enter
the small intestine.
• The stomach’s acidic pH destroys salivary amylase.

Carbohydrate digestion – Pancreas and small

intestine

• The pancreas secretes amylase into the duodenum.

• In the small intestine, bicarbonate ions from
pancreatic juice neutralizes gastric acid.
• Amylase continues the breakdown of starches and
glycogen into maltose, maltotriose, and alpha dextrins.
• Amylase does not act on cellulose an indigestible
plant fiber.
Carbohydrate digestion – brush border enzymes
• Carbohydrate digestion concludes in the microvilli of the small
intestine, in brush border epithelial cells.
• Four brush border enzymes are involved:
• Alpha dextrinase breaks down alpha-dextrin chains by
removing glucose units.
• Sucrase breaks sucrose into glucose and fructose.
• Maltase breaks maltose and maltotriose into glucose.
• Lactase breaks lactose into glucose and galactose.
• The final end products of carbohydrate digestion are glucose,
fructose, and galactose.
Carbohydrate absorption – end products

• All end products of carbohydrate digestion

(glucose, fructose and galactose) are absorbed
as monosaccharides.
• Carbohydrate are ultimately absorbed into
capillaries of the villi.
Carbohydrate absorption

Fructose
• Facilitated diffusion:
• Transport fructose from lumen into epithelial
cells of intestinal villi.
• Transport monosaccharides out of epithelial
cells into the interstitial fluid.
• The monosaccharide eventually diffuses into the
blood stream without using ATP in the process.
Glucose and Galactose
• Secondary active transport :
• Transport glucose and galactose into
epithelial cells of intestinal villi.
• Couples transport of glucose or
galactose with that of sodium ions.
• Transports materials in the same
direction, down the concentration
gradient for at least one substance.
• Glucose and Galactose are then
transported from epithelial cells to the
interstitial fluid and eventually into the
blood via facilitated diffusion
 Protein Digestion
• Protein digestion occurs in the stomach and
small intestine.
• The stomach enzyme pepsin initiates the
process.
• Pancreatic and intestinal brush border enzymes
complete the digestive process.

Protein Digestion - Stomach

• In the stomach, pepsin is created from
pepsinogen in the presence of pH- lowering
hydrochloric acid (HCl).
• Newly produced pepsin molecules then catalyze
the production of more pepsin.
• Pepsin molecules begin to break down proteins
into peptides.
Protein Digestion – Small Intestine
• Protein continues to be broken down in the small
intestine.
• In the duodenum , chyme interacts with pancreatic
juice, a mixture of fluid and several enzymes.
• Protein digesting enzymes in pancreatic juice are:
• Trypsin
• Chymotrypsin
• Elastase
• Carboxypeptidase.
• Each enzyme effectively breaks a particular peptide
bond to produce smaller peptides or amino acids.
• Trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase help break down
larger peptides into smaller peptides.
• Carboxypeptidase breaks the bond between the
terminal amino acid and the carboxyl end of the
peptide .
Protein Digestion – brush border enzymes
• Digestion is completed in the brush border by
two active enzymes:
• Aminopeptidase- breaks peptide bond
that attaches terminal amino acid to the
amino end of the peptide.
• Dipeptidase- splits dipeptides into single
amino acids.

• End product of protein digestion

• amino acids
• Dipeptide
• tripeptides
Protein Absorption
• End product of protein digestion – amino acids, dipeptide, tripeptides .
• The end products , amino acids, dipeptides and tripeptides are absorbed at the intestinal villus.
• Absorption depends upon three mechanisms:
• Active transport.
• Na+- dependent secondary active transport.
• H+ dependent secondary active transport.

Protein Absorption – transport mechanisms

• Most amino acids enter epithelial cells via active transport.
• Some amino acids enter epithelial cells via Na+ dependent secondary active transport.
• Dipeptides and tripeptides enter epithelial cells via H+ dependent secondary active transport.
• The peptides are then hydrolyzed to single amino acids inside of the epithelial cells.
• Amino acids can diffuse out of the epithelial cells, through the intestinal fluid, and enter the
blood capillaries of the villus .
Protein Absorption
 Lipid Digestion

• Lipid digestion takes place primarily in the small

intestine :
• some occurs in the mouth and stomach.
• Lipases are enzymes that break down triglycerides ad
phospholipids.
• Lingual and gastric lipases hydrolyze a small amount
of triglycerides.
• End products are fatty acids and monoglycerides.
Lipid Digestion - small intestine
• In the duodenum, triglycerides interact with bile
salts and pancreatic juice.
• Bile salts cling to mono, di, and triglycerides of
fat globules.
• The breakup of the fat globules results in
triglyceride emulsion droplets.
• Pacreatic lipase:
• is produced by pancreatic acinar cells.
• Attaches to triglyceride molecules of the
emulsion droplets.
• Catalyze the breakup of the triglyceride of
molecules into monoglycerides ad fatty
acids.
• Break down most triglycerides in the
duodenum of the small intestine.
Lipid Absorption
• The end products fatty acids ad monoglycerides, depend on bile salts for absorption.

Lipid Absorption – transport mechanism

• Bile salts from micelles which ferry fatty acids and monoglycerides to epithelial cells.
• Free fatty acids, monoglycerides and some phospholipids and cholesterol molecules , diffuses freely
into epithelial cells.
• Micelles diffuse back into the chyme and continue transporting end products.
• Monoglycerides are commonly digested further by lipases, producing glycerol and fatty acids.
• Glycerol and fatty acids then recombine to form triglycerides.
• Triglycerides then aggregate with phospholipids and cholesterol to form chylomicrons.
• Chylomicrons are the coated with proteins and leave the epithelial cell via exocytosis.
• Chylomicrons are too bulky to enter blood capillaries directly.
• They enter lacteals, travel through lymphatic vessels and enter the bloodstream at the left
subclavian vein.
• Chylomicrons are quickly removed from the blood and broken down by lipoprotein lipases in
capillary endothelial cells in the liver and adipose tissue.
Lipid Absorption
Nucleic Acid Digestion
• Nucleic acid digestion, which takes place in the
small intestine, involves:
• Pancreatic nuclease,
• Brush border enzymes in the small intestine.

Nucleic Acid Digestion – small intestine

• Nucleic acids enter the small intestine dissolved in
gastric chyme.
• As gastric chyme enters the duodenum of the small
intestine, pancreatic juice also delivers two
nucleases
• Ribnuclease, which catalyzes the breakdown of
RNA into ribonucleotides.
• Deoxyribouclease, which catalyzes the
breakdown of DNA into deoxyribonucleotides.
Nucleic Acid Digestion – brush border enzymes
• Further digestion occurs at the microvilli of the
epithelial cells of the villi in the small intestine.
• Two brush border enzymes completes nucleic
acid digestion
• Phosphatases which catalyzes the cleavage
of a phosphate to form a
nucleoside(nitrogenous base and pentose
sugar).
• Nucleosidases, which catalyze the breaking
of the covalent bond that holds the
nitrogenous base to the pentose sugar.
• The final end products of nucleic acid digestion
are
• Nitrogeous base
• Pentose sugars (Ribose and Deoxyribose
sugar)
• Phosphate ions.
Nucleic Acid Absorption
• Absorption of nucleic acid mainly occurs in the duodenum and jejunum of the small
intestine.
• At the intestinal villus , all nucleic acid are absorbed as:
• Nitrogenous base (A, C, T, G, U)
• Pentose sugar (Ribose and Deoxyribose sugar)
• Phosphate ions.
Nucleic Acid Absorption -Transport mechanism
• Membrane transport proteins carry the products of nucleotide digestion into epithelial cells
from the lumen.
• Some involves active transport ; some involve secondary active transport.
• Through diffusion the products of nucleotide digestion are transported from intestinal
epithelial cells;
• Across the basolateral membrane
• Into the interstitial fluid
• And finally into the blood
• The nucleotide digestion products are transported by blood circulation to the liver and other
tissue where they undergo further degradation.
Nucleic Acid Absorption
Absorption of different digested nutrients in the small intestine