Over view of Digestion & Absorption of Carbohydrates, Lipids and Proteins

Dr Fauzia Imtiaz
Objectives
By the end of the lecture, the student should be able to:
Define the terms digestion & absorption
Enlist different enzymes involved in digestion & absorption of
carbohydrates, lipids and proteins
Discuss in terms of process involved in each one of above
macromolecules
Definition
Digestion => mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller
components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream.
Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules
to smaller ones.
Absorption=> Digested food is now able to pass into the blood vessels in
the wall of the intestine through the process of diffusion.
The small intestine is the site where most of the nutrients from ingested
food are absorbed.
Carbohydrates

Sites: mouth and intestinal Lumen

Enzymes: disaccharidases and endoglycosidases, glycosidases,

Steps:
A: Starts in mouth
B: by the action of pancreatic enzymes in small intestine
C: Final digestion by enzymes of intestinal mucosal cells
D : Absorption of monosaccharides by intestinal mucosal cells

A: Starts in mouth
Major diatery CHO glycogen & starch
salivary amylase acts on starch and randomly
breaks (1-4) bonds

B: by the action of pancreatic enzymes in small intestine

When the acidic stomach content reaches the small intestine
 neutralized by bicarbonate secreted by the pancrease

C: Final digestion by enzymes of intestinal mucosal cells

ltose
These enzymes are present in brush borders of intestinal mucosal cells

D : Absorption of monosaccharides by intestinal mucosal cells

Duodenum & upper jejunum absorb bulk of dietary sugars

Na independent monosaccharide transporter (GLUT-5)

Abnormalities
Digestive enzyme deficiencies
Lactose intolerance
Isomaltase-sucrase deficiency

Digestion of Dietary Proteins

Stomach

Pancreas

Small intestine
 Digestion of Dietary Proteins
Gastric Secretion
Pancreatic enzymes
Oligopeptides by enzymes of small intestine
 Absorption of amino acids and dipeptides

Gastric Secretion
Gastric Juice HCl, Pepsinogin

pepsin secreted by the serous cells

dietary protein.

Pancreatic enzymes
Small Intestine
a.a.
By the action of pancreatic proteases
Sp
lysine
Release of zymogen mediated by Cholecystokinin and secretin

Activation of zymogens on the luminal surface of intestinal mucosal

inogen to trypsin.

By removal of hexapeptide from the amino terminal of trypsinogen

Oligopeptides by enzymes of small intestine

Luminal surface of the intestine cantains aminopeptidase an

- terminal and forms free a.a., smaller
peptides.

Absorption of amino acids and dipeptides

Free a.a ,and dipeptides intestinal epithelial cells.

Taken up by portal system.

circulation.
 Hartnup disease & cysteinuria
Rare genetic disorders
Deficiency of amino acid transporters
Malabsorption of amino acids in intestine and kidneys
Hartup disease + loss of tryptophan (essential)
Cysteinuria = kidneys do not excrete cystein, ornithine, lysine &
arginine)
Ppt of cystein= kidney stones block yrinary tract

Lipids

Digestion and Absorption

Processing of dietary lipid in the stomach
Emulsification of dietary lipid in the small intestine
Degradation of dietary lipids by pancreatic enzymes
Absorption of lipids by enterocytes
Resynthesis of TG and Cholesterol esters
Use of dietary lipids by the tissues
 Processing of Dietary Lipid In The Stomach

60 150 gm/day triacylglycerol, cholesterol, cholesteryl ester,

phospholipids and FFA

chains)
-6, acid stable enzymes
Neonates (milk fat)

Emulsification of Dietary Lipid In The Small Intestine

Duodenum
hydrophobic lipid droplets

particles

Degradation of Dietary Lipids By Pancreatic Enzymes

TG degradation
2-monoacylglycerol & FFA

cholesterol + FFA

Absorption of lipids by enterocytes

FFA, F Chol & 2 monoacyl glycerol

Mixed micelles disc shaped clusters of amphipathic lipids, soluble

 Resynthesis of TG and Cholesterol esters
Mixture abs
orbed by enterocytes endoplasmic reticulum

2-

Use of Dietary Lipids By The Tissues

Chylomicrons (TG) FFA + glycerol

OR

their component parts

Fat malabsorption
Syndrome of fat malabsorption consists of Diarrhea, steatorria,
malabsorption, wasting and vitamin deficiencies
Some common causes are:
Lactase deficiecy
Celiac sprue
Pernicious anemia
Blind loop syndrome
Lymphatic obstruction
Tuberculosis
lymphoma

Summary
Carbohydrate
Digestion begins in the mouth by salivary amylase and completed in the
small intestine by pancreatic amylase.

Monosaccharides, such as glucose, galactose and fructose, are

produced by the breakdown of polysaccharides and are transported to
the intestinal epithelium by facilitated diffusion or active transport.

Facilitated diffusion moves the sugars to the bloodstream.

 Summary
Protein
Proteins are broken down to peptide fragments by pepsin in the
stomach, and by pancreatic trypsin and chemotrypsin in the small
intestine.

The fragments are then digested to free amino acids by carboxy

peptidase from the pancreas and amino peptidase from the intestinal
epithelium.

Free amino acids enter the epithelium by secondary active transport and
leave it by facilitated diffusion.

Small amounts of intact proteins can enter interstitial fluid by endo- and
exocytosis.

Summary
Lipids
Fat digestion occurs by pancreatic lipase in small intestine. => A
monoglyceride and two fatty acids are produced in the digestive
process.

Large lipid droplets are first broken down into smaller droplets, by a
process called emulsification. => emulsifying agents (amphipathic bile
salts). Pancreatic colipase binds the water-soluble lipase to the lipid
substrate.

Digested products and bile salts form amphipathic micelles. These

micelles keep the insoluble products in soluble aggregates => from
which small amounts are released and absorbed by epithelial cells via
diffusion.

Free fatty acids and monoglycerides then recombine into

triacylglycerols at the smooth ER, are processed further in the Golgi and
enter the interstitial fluid as droplets called chylomicrons, which are then
taken up by the lacteals in the intestine.
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