Digestion Absorption Carbohydrates

Digestion of Carbohydrates
Digestion is the process of breaking large, insoluble food molecules into smaller
molecules for absorption into the bloodstream. This process involves the use of many
digestive fluids and enzymes such as saliva, mucus, bile and hydrochloric acid, among others.
• Carbohydrates are one of the essential

nutrients in the human diet. There are
two types of carbohydrates that can be
digested by the human digestive system
– sugar and starch.
• Carbohydrate digestion begins in the
mouth, where salivary amylase breaks
down polysaccharides into smaller
polysaccharides(dextrins), maltose, and
some glucose.
• In the stomach, the partially digested
starches enter the acidic environment,
where the low pH stops further
carbohydrate digestion.
Digestion in Small Intestine
In the small intestine where the pH is about 8,

• enzymes produced in the pancreas hydrolyze the
remaining dextrins to maltose and glucose.
• enzymes produced in the mucosal cells that line the
small intestine hydrolyze maltose, lactose, and
sucrose.
• the resulting monosaccharides are absorbed
through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.
In the liver, hexoses fructose and galactose are
converted to glucose, the primary energy source for
muscle contractions, red blood cells, and the brain.
Digestion of Carbohydrates
Overview of Digestion & Absorption
Fiber Carbohydrate
Mouth and The mechanical action of the mouth and teeth
salivary crushes and tears fiber in food and mixes it The salivary glands secrete saliva into the mouth to
glands with saliva to moisten it for swallowing. moisten the food. The salivary enzyme amylase
begins digestion:
Stomach Fiber is unchanged. Stomach acid inactivates salivary enzymes, halting

starch digestion. To a small extent, stomach acid
hydrolyzes maltose and sucrose
Small Fiber is unchanged. The pancreas produces enzymes and releases them
intestine through the pancreatic duct into the small intestine:
Then enzymes on the surfaces of the small

intestinal cells break disaccharides into
monosaccharides, and the cells absorb them :
Large Most fiber passes intact through the digestive

intestine tract to the large intestine. Here, bacterial
enzymes digest some fiber:
Fiber holds water; regulates bowel activity;

and binds cholesterol and some minerals,
carrying them out of the body as it is excreted
with feces
Carbohydrate Digestion
in the GI Tract
What is Absorption?
Absorption is the process of the absorbing or assimilating

substances into the cells or across the tissues and organs
through the process of diffusion or osmosis.
The Absorptive System
• Most absorption takes place in
the small intestine.
• Small intestine’s inner surface looks
smooth, but viewed through a
microscope, it turns out to be
wrinkled into hundreds of folds.
• Each fold is covered with
thousands of fingerlike
projections called villi.
• A single villus, magnified still
more, turns out to be composed of
several hundred cells, each covered
with microscopic hairs called
microvilli.
Absorption
After digestion, carbohydrates are absorbed in the small

intestine with the help of minute finger-shaped projections
known as Villi
Glucose can be transported into cells
through two main methods
1. Facilitated diffusion, a passive process (GLUT carrier

protein)
• A passive process that uses carrier proteins or pores in the cell
membrane to move glucose from high to low concentration
areas
• located in the plasma membrane of cells throughout the body, as

they are responsible for maintaining a basal rate of glucose
uptake
• Facilitated diffusion can occur between the bloodstream and

cells
as the concentration gradient between the extracellular and
intracellular environments is such that no ATP hydrolysis is
Glucose can be transported into cells
through two main methods
2. Secondary active transport, an active process (SGLT

carrier protein)
An active process that uses energy to move glucose against a

concentration gradient. In this process, glucose is cotransported
with sodium ions into the cell.
Takes place in gut and kidney

The free energy required for this active transport is obtained
from ATP hydrolysis linked to a sodium pump that expels
sodium ion from the cells in exchange of potassium ion
Digestion and absorption are typically coupled, with the enzymes closely
located to the appropriate transporters.
The cells in the small intestine have membranes that contain many
transport proteins in order to get the monosaccharides and other nutrients
into the blood where they can be distributed to the rest of the body.
Glucose absorption occurs in the small intestine via the SGLT-1 transporter
(sodium glucose co-transporter).
Glucose and galactose are actively transported from the small intestine
lumen by the sodium glucose transporter (SGLT-1) located in the brush
border of the small intestine.
Glucose transporter GLUT2: This protein carrier transports glucose and

galactose out of the enterocyte.
Glucose transport is driven by a sodium gradient across the apical cell

membrane generated by the Na+ ,K+ -ATPase pump located in the inner
side of enterocyte
Fructose is absorbed by facilitated diffusion
Fructose absorption is completed via the GLUT5 transporter by

facilitated diffusion while glucose and galactose are actively
transported.
The first organ to receive glucose, fructose, and galactose is the

liver.
The liver takes them up and converts galactose to glucose, breaks

fructose into even smaller carbon-containing units, and either
stores glucose as glycogen or exports it back to the blood.
How much glucose the liver exports to the blood is under hormonal
control (Glucose Homeostasis)
Once a molecule has entered a cell in a villus, the next step is to
transmit it the bloodstream and the lymphatic system.
Both systems supply vessels to each villus. Through these

vessels, the nutrients leave the cell and enter either the lymph or
the blood. In either case, the nutrients end up in the blood.

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Digestion of Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates are one of the essential

In the small intestine where the pH is about 8,

Stomach Fiber is unchanged. Stomach acid inactivates salivary enzymes, halting

Then enzymes on the surfaces of the small

Large Most fiber passes intact through the digestive

Fiber holds water; regulates bowel activity;

Absorption is the process of the absorbing or assimilating

After digestion, carbohydrates are absorbed in the small

1. Facilitated diffusion, a passive process (GLUT carrier

• located in the plasma membrane of cells throughout the body, as

• Facilitated diffusion can occur between the bloodstream and

2. Secondary active transport, an active process (SGLT

An active process that uses energy to move glucose against a

Takes place in gut and kidney

Glucose transporter GLUT2: This protein carrier transports glucose and

Glucose transport is driven by a sodium gradient across the apical cell

Fructose absorption is completed via the GLUT5 transporter by

The first organ to receive glucose, fructose, and galactose is the

The liver takes them up and converts galactose to glucose, breaks

Both systems supply vessels to each villus. Through these

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