Nutrition, digestion and absorption

Why do we eat?

To stay alive (and/or because we are hungry)

How?
by providing raw materials and energy from
the food for the human body
Two types of metabolic reactions
Assimilation:
Synthesis of organic molecules
or building up more complicated organic compounds
e.g. CO2 + H2O glucose
glucose glycogen
energy requirements

Dissimilation:
Breakdown of organic molecules in order to
produce energy in the form of ATP

Glycosis cycle produce ATP

 Sources of energy

Animals are heterotrophs and derive their

nutrition by eating other organisms.

Autotrophs can synthesize their necessary

nutrients.
from sunlight (photosynthesis)
from chemical energy (chemosynthesis)

Heterotrophs depend on this synthesis and have

adapted to take advantage of it.
 Types of heterotrophs

How organisms acquire nutrition:

Saprobes absorb nutrients from dead
organic matter.

Detritivores actively feed on dead

organic matter.

Predators feed on living organisms.

 Types of predators

Herbivores consume plants

Carnivores prey on animals

Omnivores prey on both

Filter feeders filter small organisms from

an aquatic environment
Fluid feeders include mosquitoes
 Energy balance
energy input (production and uptake) = energy output (use and loss)
Energy needs can be measured.
Measures of heat energy:
A calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise 1 gram of water 1 C
A kilocalorie (kcal) = 1,000 calories
The Calorie (Cal) is the same as a kilocalorie and = 1,000 calories
Scientists are abandoning the calorie in favor of the International
System of Units measure of energy called the joule (1 joule = 0.239
calories).
 Metabolism
The metabolic rate measures energy needs of an animal
that are met by food intake and digestion.

Foods that provide energy are fats, carbohydrates, and

proteins.

Movements, synthesis of larger molecules, transport

processes etc. need energy consumption.

Basal metabolic rate is the metabolic rate resulting from

all of the essential physiological functions that take place
in a resting state.

Physical activity adds to the basal energy requirement.

 Energy sources
Carbohydrates
Glucose
C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O
Energy equivalent: 17 kJ/g

Fats
Energy equivalent: 40 kJ/g

Proteins (amino acids)

Energy equivalent: 17 kJ/g
 Energy stores
Animals must store energy between meals.

Carbohydrates are stored in liver and muscle

cells as glycogen eno gh fo abo a da
energy needs.

Fat stores more energy per gram and with little

water, which makes it more compact.

Protein is not used to store energy, but it can

be metabolized as a last resort.
 Energy imbalance
calory intake calory output
if +, >: increased storage
if -, <: utilisation of stores
 Starvation
Undernourished too little food taken in
and in ead me aboli m of he bod o n
molecules begins:
Protein is lost rapidly to protein synthesis
Glycogen and fat are broken down
Decreased protein can lead to edema, a
classic sign of kwashiorkor.
 Obesity
Overnourished more food taken
in than needed and excess is
stored as increased body mass:
Glycogen reserves are built up
Extra carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins are converted to body fat

Some species use seasonal overnourishment

to survive periods when food is unavailable.

In humans, however, overnourishment can be

a serious health hazard, increasing the risk of
high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes,
and other disorders.
 Nutrients
proteins
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
Each species has essential amino acids that they
cannot synthesize.

Complementary
diets can supply all
eight essential
amino acids for
adult humans.

Other amino acids are conditionally essential.

 Nutrients
fatty acids
Humans must also obtain essential fatty
acids.
Linoleic acid is one that helps synthesize
other unsaturated fatty acids.

Essential fatty acids are needed to

make other fatty acids, components of
signaling molecules, and membrane
phospholipids.
 Other nutrients

Macronutrients elements required in

large amounts, like calcium.
Micronutrients elements required in
tiny amounts, like iron.
Vitamins carbon compounds that
cannot be synthesized:
Species-specific
Water-soluble or fat-soluble
 Vitamins
Vitamins are carbon compounds that animals require in small
quantities, but cannot synthesize for themselves.
They are available in the food or provided by bacteria of the gut.
Most vitamins act as cofactors of emzymes.
Characteristic deficiency symptoms are seen, which can be treated
by the application of the appropriate vitamin.
The list of necessary vitamins varies from species to species.
Humans require 13 vitamins.
 Water-soluble vitamins

B3

B5
B7 or H

B4 or 9

Water-soluble vitamins when ingested in excess,

are eliminated in the urine.
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

Needed for decarboxylation in

Kreb s c cle

Deficiency: beriberi
Deficiency can damage the heart and
nervous system.

Stoppage of CHO metabolism at pyruvate,

greatly reduced energy production
 Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
Needed for nucleoprotein synthesis
RBC production

Folic acid
Needed for nucleoprotein synthesis Deficiency of any of these:
RBC production Pernicious anemia
Fe s pro ec ing i amin
 Niacin (Vitamin B3)

Coenzyme in hydrogen
transport (NAD and NADP)

Deficiency: Pellagra (3D

disease)
Dermatitis
Digestive
disturbances
Dementia
DEATH
 Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
Needed for collagen synthesis
Antioxidant

Deficiency: Scurvy
Failure to form
connective tissue
Pinpoint bleeding
around hair follicles,
along the gums, and
under the nails.
 Fat-soluble vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamins can accumulate in body fat and

may build up to toxic levels if taken in great excess.
 Vitamin A (Retinol)

Needed for visual pigments

maintenance of epithelial structures

Deficiency: Hemeralopia,
night blindness

Skin lesions
Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol)
Needed for Ca2+ and phosphate
absorption from gut
Bone and tooth formation

Deficiency:
Rickets in children (defective
bone formation)

Osteomalacia in adults
 Vitamin K

Needed for Vitamin K-dependent clotting

factor synthesis in liver

Deficiency:
Failure of coagulation,
hemorrhage
The human digestive system

Digestion
usually
begins in a
body cavity.
Tubular guts
have an
opening at
each end:
A mouth
takes in food,
and wastes
are eliminated
through the
anus
Layers of the tube
Activities of the gastrointestinal tract
Movement: propels food through the digestive
system
Secretion: release of digestive juices in response to
a specific stimulus
Digestion: breakdown of food into molecular
components small enough to cross the plasma
membrane
Absorption: passage of the molecules into the
body's interior and their passage throughout the body
Elimination: removal of undigested food and wastes
Coordination of these to each other by regulation.
 Mechanical fragmentation

Food is broken up in the mouth cavity by teeth.

 Chewing and salivation

Coordinated function of
skeletal muscles

Mechanical breakdown
of food particles
Salivary glands
Mixing with saliva

Bolus formation
Swallowing and peristalsis
 Storage and digestion

Stomach is a storage chamber that allow for

gradual digestion.

The lower esophageal sphincter, a

ring of muscle, prevents food from
moving backward into the
esophagus.
 Digestive enzymes
Macromolecules are broken down by digestive enzymes:

Protease bonds of amino acids protein

Carbohydrase carbohydrates sugar, fructose

lactose glucose
Peptidase peptides
Lipase fats lipids galactose
Nuclease nucleic acids
 Digestion in the stomach

Chemical digestion begins in

the mouth and stomach:
Salivary glands secrete
amylase that mixes with
food starch

Gastric pits in the stomach

are lined with three types of
secretory cells:
Chief cells, parietal cells, and
mucus-secreting cells, which
protect the stomach remember it
Activation of certain digestive enzymes
Digestive enzymes are produced in an inactive
form a zymogen.
A zymogen cannot act on the cells that produce it.
In the gut a zymogen is activated by another
enzyme.
Cells lining the gut are protected from enzymes by
mucus.

Carbonic anhydrase
 Hyperacidity and ulcers
Ulcers are sites of damage to the
stomach lining.
Causes include stress and
lifestyles that lead to excess
stomach secretions, especially
HCl.
Warren and Marshall noted that
ulcer patients always had an
unknown bacterium present.
They discovered Helicobacter
pylori also causes ulcers it Heartburn
survives in the stomach by an
enzyme reaction that Ulcers
neutralizes acid.
Bleeding
Antibiotics are able to cure this
type of ulcer. Helicobacter pylori
From the stomach to the duodenum
The stomach releases contents to the small intestine.
Chyme is a mixture of gastric juice and partly digested food.
The stomach walls contract and move chyme to the bottom
of the stomach.
The pyloric sphincter allows small amounts to enter the
small intestine.
 Small intestines
Segmentation

Peristalsis

Most chemical digestion occurs in the small intestine.

The small intestine has three sections:
Duodenum the initial section and site of most
digestion
Jejunum and ileum carry out most absorption
Bile and pancreatic juice
The liver synthesizes bile salts
from cholesterol and secretes
them as bile. Bile also includes
other substances, such as
phospholipids and bilirubin.
Bile flows through the hepatic duct
to the duodenum, and through
the cystic duct to the
gallbladder.
Below cystic duct junction the
hepatic duct is called the
common bile duct
Fat signals the gallbladder to
release bile before it reaches
the duodenum it is joined by the
pancreatic duct.
 The pancreas
The pancreas is an
endocrine and
exocrine gland.
Endocrine functions
include hormone
release.
Exocrine functions
include secretions
through the pancreatic
duct to the gut lumen, Exocrine Endocrine
next to the common
bile duct.
 Digestive enzymes in the intestines

The pancreas secretes

enzymes as zymogens.
One zymogen is activated
by enterokinase in the
duodenum produces
active trypsin that can
activate other zymogens.

The pancreas also

secretes HCO3 to
neutralize or to make
slightly alkaline the
chyme in intestine.
 Luminal and cellular digestion

Lactase: hydrolysis
of lactose to
Lumen glucose + galactose

Lactose
intolerance: lack of
Epithel cell lactase
Large area for absorption
 Absorption
The microvilli of the small intestine absorb
nutrients and inorganic ions.
Na+ and other ions are actively transported and
are important for water absorption.

Symporters combine
nutrient molecules
with Na+ as it
diffuses
molecules
hitchhike.

Sodium cotransport
Digestion of lipids
Fat entering the duodenum
stimulates release of the
hormone cholecystokinin
(CCK) that stimulates
gallbladder contraction.
Bile contains salts that
emulsify fats and expose
them to lipases enzymes
that digest fats.
Micelles are small fat particles
that result from the action of
bile salts.
Absorption of lipids
Lipid-soluble fats pass
through the villi membrane.
Fats are re-formed into
chylomicrons that pass
into lacteals, vessels of the
lymph system, before
entering the blood stream.
 After absorption

Absorbed nutrients go to the liver.

Blood leaving the digestive tract goes
to the liver via the hepatic portal vein.
Liver cells absorb nutrients and store
them or convert them for use.
Glycogen is synthesized from sugars,
proteins are made from amino acids,
and lipids can be used to make
lipoproteins.
 Large intestine

Contents of the small intestine pass

into the large intestine, or colon.
The colon absorbs water and ions, and
produces feces.
Too much water absorption in the
colon leads to constipation; too little
leads to diarrhea.
 Two states of GI tract
Animals do not eat continuously and
are in one of two states:
Absorptive period the period after a
meal when food is in the gut and
nutrients are absorbed
Postabsorptive period stomach and
small intestine are empty and
metabolism runs on internal reserves.
 Regulation of GI functions
Digestion is governed by neuronal and
hormonal controls.
Unconscious reflexes, such as swallowing,
coordinate digestion.
The digestive tract has an independent
nervous system that also regulates
digestion.
Negative feedback loops
involving enterohormones
Digestive hormones and
sites of production:
Secretin in the
duodenum, causes
pancreas to secrete
digestive juices
Cholecystokinin in the
small intestine, causes
gallbladder to release
bile, stimulates pancreas,
slows stomach
Gastrin released by
the stomach into the
blood
 GI function related
symptoms/problems
Nausea and vomiting
Obstipation vs. diarrhea

Hyperacidity and ulcers

Jaundice

Gallstones

Heartburn

Ulcers
Helicobacter pylori
Bleeding