Chapter 4 Nutrition in Humans

• Human Digestive System

• Functions

• Ingestion
• eating

• Transport
• movement of food – peristalsis, swallowing

• Secretion
• digestive juices, mucus

• Digestion
• breaking up of food into small soluble
molecules

• Absorption
• uptake of soluble food molecules into cells

• Assimilation
• absorbed food are converted to new
protoplasm or used to provide energy.

• Egestion
• passing out of undigested materials
Mechanical Absorption
digestion
• Water soluble
• chewing by
teeth in mouth digested food
(eg. glucose &
• churning by
muscles in amino acids)
stomach absorbed into
blood
capillaries in
Chemical
digestion villi of ileum.
• amylase in
saliva • Digested fats
• pepsin in (fatty acid &
stomach glycerol)
• amylase, absorbed into
trypsin, lipase in villi cells,
duodenum forms fats
• disaccharidases, ileum
molecules and
erepsin, lipase enters the
colon
in duodenum & lacteal
jejunum. (lymphatic
system) of villi
in ileum.
 Human Digestive System
Buccal cavity / mouth cavity

Oesophagus
Bile duct

Duodenum
(ileum)

Caecum (colon)
 Human Digestive System
Accessory organs
• salivary glands,
• saliva moistens food
• amylase enzymes

• liver,
• produces bile

• gallbladder
• stores and secretes bile

• pancreas,
• secretes bicarbonate
• secretes enzymes
– amylase, lipase, proteases
• secretes hormones
- insulin, glucagon
 Peristalsis
The wall of the oesophagus is
made up of two layers of
muscles.
These muscles are present along
the gut from the oesophagus to
layers of muscles
the rectum.

Part of the gut wall

The two layers of muscles are:
Peristalsis
• the longitudinal muscles on the
outside of the gut; and
• the circular muscles on the
inside of the gut.
The two layers of muscles cause
circular longitudinal
rhythmic, wave-like muscles muscles
contractions of the gut walls.
Such movements are known as
peristalsis.
Peristalsis:
Part of the gut wall
• enables food to be mixed with
the digestive juices; and
• moves the food along the gut.
 Peristalsis
The circular muscles constrict the lumen whereas the
longitudinal muscles shorten the lumen.
The circular and longitudinal muscles are antagonistic muscles.
When one set of muscles contracts, the other set relaxes.

circular muscles
constrict the
lumen

longitudinal
muscles shorten
the lumen

lumen
 Peristalsis
When the circular muscles contract, the
longitudinal muscles relax.
The wall of the gut constricts, that is, it
becomes narrower and longer.
Food in the gut is squeezed or pushed
forward.
circular muscles
contract
longitudinal
muscles relax

food mass is
pushed forward

wall constricts to push food forward

 Peristalsis
When the longitudinal muscles contract, the
circular muscles relax.
The wall of the gut dilates, that is, it becomes
wider and shorter.
This widens the lumen for the food to enter.
wall dilates to allow food to enter
circular
muscles relax
longitudinal
muscles contract

food mass enters

 Relaxed
Circular muscles
muscle layer

Circular
Bolus of muscles Relaxed
food contract, muscles
constricting
passageway
Longitudinal and pushing
muscles bolus down
contract,
shortening
passageway
ahead of bolus
Longitudinal
muscle layer
Stomach
Digestion involves two processes:
physical digestion and chemical digestion.

Physical digestion:
• involves the mechanical break-up of food into small
particles.
• occurs:
- in the mouth, when you chew food; and
- in the stomach, where churning breaks up the food
particles and mixes them with digestive enzymes.
• increases the surface area to volume ratio of the
ingested food so that digestive enzymes can act on the
food more efficiently.
Chemical digestion
• is the breaking down of the large molecules in food,
such as proteins, starch and fats, into small soluble
molecules which can be absorbed.
• involves hydrolytic reactions catalysed by digestive
enzymes.
 food
• Ingestion
• Food enters the mouth
• Food in the mouth stimulates the
salivary glands to secrete saliva.

• Saliva is mixed with the food.

Mucin in saliva helps to soften the
food.

• Saliva contains an enzyme called

salivary amylase which digests starch
to maltose.

• The pH of saliva is neutral (around

pH 7). Salivary amylase is active at
this pH.
• Chewing breaks the food up into
smaller pieces. saliva salivary
gland

• This increases the surface area to

volume ratio for salivary amylase to
work on.
• The tongue rolls
the food into small,
slippery, round
masses or boli
(singular: bolus). bolus
• The boli are
swallowed and pass
down the oesophagus
via the pharynx.

• Peristalsis in the walls

of the oesophagus
pushes each bolus of
food down into the
stomach.
bolus

•Gravity also helps the

food to pass down the
oesophagus.
• Food passes into the
stomach.
• The presence of food in
the stomach stimulates
the gastric glands to
secrete gastric juice into
the stomach cavity.

• Peristalsis in the
stomach wall churns and gastric
breaks up the food. gastric juice
food gland
Peristalsis also mixes the
food well with gastric
juice.
 pepsin
protein
• Gastric juice is a polypeptide

dilute solution of
hydrochloric acid
(about pH 2) and two
enzymes, pepsin and
rennin.

rennin

milk protein curdled pyloric

milk protein sphincter
• The dilute
hydrochloric acid: protein
pepsin
polypeptide

- stops the action of

salivary amylase by
denaturing it;

- changes the inactive

forms of the enzymes,
rennin
pepsinogen and
prorennin, in the gastric milk protein curdled pyloric
milk protein
juice, to the active sphincter

forms, pepsin and

rennin respectively;
• The dilute
hydrochloric acid: pepsin
protein
polypeptide

- provides an acidic
medium suitable for
the action of the
gastric enzymes; and

- kills certain
potentially harmful rennin

microorganisms in
milk protein curdled pyloric
food. milk protein sphincter
 pepsin
protein
• The proteases pepsin polypeptide

and rennin act on

proteins.

• Pepsin digests
proteins to
polypeptides or
peptones. rennin

milk protein curdled pyloric

milk protein sphincter
• Rennin clots or curdles
milk proteins by
pepsin
converting the soluble protein
polypeptide
protein caseinogen into
insoluble casein.

• This is necessary
because milk proteins
would pass through the
duodenum as easily as
water and would not be
rennin
digested by pepsin.
milk protein curdled pyloric
• Insoluble casein remains milk protein sphincter
long enough in the
stomach to be digested by
pepsin.
• Food normally
remains in the
stomach for about
three to four hours.
The partly digested
food becomes
liquefied, forming chyme
chyme.

• Chyme passes in
small amounts into stomach
the duodenum when pyloric
sphincter
the pyloric sphincter
relaxes and opens.
• Chyme enters the small
intestine.
bile
bile duct
pancreatic juice
•It stimulates: pancreatic duct

- the intestinal glands to

secrete intestinal juice.

- the pancreas to secrete

pancreatic juice. The
pancreatic juice passes intestinal juice

through the pancreatic

duct into the duodenum.
• Chyme stimulates:
- the gall bladder to release
bile. bile duct
bile
pancreatic juice
-Bile does not contain
pancreatic duct
enzymes.
-Bile passes through the bile
duct into the duodenum.

• All three fluids are alkaline.

The alkalis:
- neutralise the acidic chyme; intestinal juice
- provide a suitable alkaline
medium for the action of the
pancreatic and intestinal
enzymes.
• Pancreatic juice contains

- amylase which digests bile duct

bile
pancreatic juice
starch to maltose
pancreatic duct

- trypsin which digests

proteins to polypeptides
(trypsinogen needs to be
activated by enterokinase
enzyme from intestinal juices)
intestinal juice
- lipase which digests fats to
glycerol & fatty acids.
• Intestinal juice contains

- enterokinase which activates

bile
trypsinogen. bile duct
pancreatic juice
pancreatic duct
- disaccharidases (maltase,
sucrase, lactase) which
digests disaccharides into
monosaccharides.

- erepsin which digests

polypeptides to amino acids. intestinal juice

- lipase which digests fats to

glycerol & fatty acids.
 Liver Bile

Bile duct

Gall-
bladder
Bile Stomach

Duodenum of
small intestine
Acid chyme

Pancreas
• In the small intestine, bile salts big drop
of fat
emulsify fats.
• They lower the surface tension of +
the fats, that is, they reduce the
bile salts
attractive forces between the fat
molecules.
• This causes the fats to break into
tiny fat droplets suspended in water, tiny fat
forming an emulsion. droplets
• Note that this is just a physical
break-up, but no chemical digestion
Bile salts emulsify fats into tiny
of fat molecules has occurred. fat droplets.
• Emulsification increases the tiny fat
droplets
surface area to volume ratio of the
fats, speeding up their digestion by
lipase. +
• Emulsified fats are digested by lipase
lipases (pancreatic and intestinal
lipases) to fatty acids and glycerol.

fatty acids and glycerol

Bile salts emulsify fats into tiny

fat droplets.
• Digested fats (fatty acids & tiny fat
droplets
glycerol) can pass through
the cell membrane of villi
cells in ileum. +
• Fat molecules are formed lipase
again and transported by
exocytosis (as chylomicrons)
out of the cells into the
lacteal of villi in ileum. fatty acids and glycerol

Bile salts emulsify fats into tiny

fat droplets.
Overview of Chemical Digestion
 INTERIOR OF INTESTINE
Blood vessel
with blood Nutrient
en route to absorption
the liver
Nutrient
absorption
Microvilli

Epithelial
cells

Muscle Lumen
layers

Blood
Circular folds capillaries
Villi
Lacteal EPITHELIAL
(lymph CELLS
vessel)
Nutrient
absorption

VILLI
INTESTINAL WALL

Villi & Microvilli of ileum (small intestines)

 Adaptations of small intestine
Features Adaptations
Length Longest part of the alimentary canal
Internal Internal walls are folded to increase surface area for
surface area absorption
Villi Further increases surface area for absorption
Microvilli - Villus covered with epithelial cells
- The plasma membrane of each cell has minute finger-like
projections (microvilli)
- Further increases surface area
Movement - Villi move back and forth independently
- Motion faster after meals
- Absorption rate increases
Membrane - Absorption across thin membrane ( epithelium is one cell
thick)
- Either by diffusion or active transport
Capillary - Dense capillary network close to epithelium
network - Carry away absorbed food particles quickly
- Maintain concentration gradient between ileum and blood
capillaries to aid diffusion
 Absorption of Nutrients

• Amino acids and simple

sugars: active transport
(mainly) and diffusion to
the capillaries to the
hepatic portal vein (liver)

• Fatty acids and glycerol:

absorbed to the lacteal
to be transported to
lymphatic system

Copyright © 2001 Benjamin Cummings, an imprint of Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. Slide 14.14C
Hepatic
vein

Hepatic
portal vein
Hepatic portal vein
-Transports absorbed water soluble foods (sugars &
amino acids)
-from ileum to liver
-nutrient rich but deoxygenated blood

Hepatic vein
- transports deoxygenated blood but nutrient poor (relative
to hepatic portal vein)
- Transports waste products away from the liver

Hepatic artery
-transports oxygenated blood (relative to vein) but
nutrient poor (relative to hepatic portal vein)
-from aorta (from the heart) to liver
Assimilation
End-product Fate

Glucose - Excess is converted to glycogen and stored in the liver

- Converted back to glucose when body needs energy and
blood sugar level is low
- Further excess of glucose is stored as fats in the adipose
tissue
- Used in cellular respiration

Fats - Part of it is stored as fats in the adipose tissue

- Used in synthesis of cell membrane
- Utilized in respiration when glucose and glycogen is used
up
- Fats stored under skin and around organs act as energy
store and insulation

Amino acids - Synthesis of proteins, enzymes and hormones

- For growth and development
- Excess amino acids are not stored in the body
- It is broken down and deaminated in the liver to form urea
and glucose.
• Dietary fibre / Roughage
• indigestible materials eg. plant cellulose
• helps in peristalsis by increasing movement of food (in
small intestines / faeces (in colon)
fibre gives volume to food / faeces for muscle
contractions to push the food along the digestive tract.
• increased movements prevents over absorption of
water in colon.

• Constipation
• faeces hard and dry which is difficult to expel.
• too much water absorbed from faeces in colon.
• faeces not able to move quickly in colon due to
absence of fibre (volume)
 Functions of liver
1. Regulation of blood glucose concentration.
1. Insulin
stimulates
liver to
convert
glucose to
glycogen.
2. Insulin
enables
1. Glucagon stimulates entry of
liver to convert glucose
glycogen to glucose. into cells
2. Glucagon converts in body.
excess amino acids to 3. Insulin
glucose promotes
synthesis
of fatty
acids from
glycogen
& glucose
in liver
 Functions of liver
1. Regulation of blood glucose concentration.

• Excess glucose is converted to insoluble

glycogen (insulin needed) and stored.

• When blood glucose level drops, this induces

liver to convert glycogen back to glucose
which enters blood.

Eg. After a heavy meal, blood glucose level rises.

After exercise, blood glucose level decreases.

Note: Insulin stimulates the conversion of glucose to glycogen by liver and

muscle cells. Insulin does not convert glucose to glycogen!
Functions of liver
Functions of liver
 Functions of liver

2. Produce bile
• emulsifies fats
• assists in the digestion of fats

3. Iron storage
• Haemoglobin (from destroyed RBCs from
spleen) is broken down and the iron ion (Fe2+)
is stored in the liver.
• The protein component of haemoglobin is
converted to bile pigments.

4. Heat production
 Functions of liver
5. Deamination of amino
acids
• Removal of amino
groups (NH2) from
excess amino acids
and converted to
urea (excreted in
kidneys as urine).

• The carbon
component of
amino acids is
converted to
glucose in the liver.
 Functions of liver
6. Protein synthesis
• Synthesis of proteins (albumins, globulins,
fibrinogen) from amino acids

7. Detoxification
• Removal or conversion of harmful substances in
blood into harmless substances.
• Eg. alcohol to aldehydes by alcohol
dehydrogenase enzyme.

8. Regulation of blood levels of amino acids, which

form the building blocks of proteins

9. Production of cholesterol and special proteins to

help carry fats through the body
 THE GUT (ALIMENTARY CANAL)
• Chewing breaks up the food.
Mouth • Action of salivary amylase: starch
maltose
• Peristalsis mixes the food with the gastric
juice. Oesophagus • Food passes down by peristalsis.
- Action of pepsin: proteins polypeptides • Intestinal glands secrete intestinal juice.
- Action of rennin: - Action of enterokinase: trypsinogen
soluble caseinogen insoluble casein Stomach trypsin
- Action of maltase: maltose glucose
- Action of lactase: lactose glucose and
Organs and glands galactose
associated with the gut - Action of sucrase: sucrose glucose and
fructose
Liver, gall bladder Small intestine - Action of erepsin: polypeptides amino
and pancreas (duodenum and ileum) acids
- Action of lipase: fats fatty acids and
• Liver cells secrete bile. glycerol
• Bile is stored in the gall bladder. • Digested foods (simple sugars, amino acids
• Bile emulsifies fats. and fatty acids and glycerol) are absorbed by
• Pancreas secrete pancreatic juice. Large intestine the villi of the small intestine.
- Action of amylase: starch maltose (colon and rectum)
- Action of trypsin: proteins
polypeptides • Water and mineral salts are absorbed from
- Action of lipase: undigested food material.
Anus • Faeces are stored temporarily in the rectum.
fats fatty acids and glycerol

• Faeces are egested through the anus.