Chapter 6:
Nutrition in Humans
Introduction
Peristalsis
Process of Digestion
Absorption
Assimilation
The Liver
INTRODUCTION
NUTRITION is the intake of food and the processes
that convert food substances into living matter.
Nutrition comprises of the following:-
FEEDING: the intake of food into the body
DIGESTION: the process whereby large food
molecules are broken down into soluble and
diffusible molecules that can be absorbed into the
body cells.
ABSORPTION: the process whereby digested food
materials are taken into the body cells.
ASSIMILATION: the process whereby some of the
absorbed food materials are converted into new
protoplasm or used to provide energy
PHYSICAL vs. CHEMICAL DIGESTION
Physical digestion:
Mechanical breakdown of food into small particles
Increases the surface area to volume ratio of the ingested
food so that digestive enzymes can act on the food more efficiently.
Occurs in the mouth, when you chew food using your teeth and
in the stomach, where churning of the stomach walls breaks up the
food particles and mixes them with digestive enzymes.
Chemical digestion:
Enzymatic hydrolysis (recall Chap 4) of large food molecules
into small soluble molecules which can be absorbed.
Achieved by the digestive enzymes found in the mouth,
stomach, duodenum and ileum.
The Human Alimentary Canal
You must be able to identify and label all structures!
What is Peristalsis?
Definition:
The rhythmic, wave-like
contractions of the gut walls
caused by the action of 2 circular
muscles
antagonistic muscles. longitudinal
muscles
Functions:
1. Moves the food along the
gut
2. Mixes the food with
digestive enzymes
Part of the gut wall
Antagonistic Muscles
The wall of the
oesophagus is made up
of 2 layers of muscles.
layers of muscles
These muscles are
present along the gut
from the oesophagus to
the rectum.
Part of the gut wall
Antagonistic Muscles
The two layers of muscles are:
1. Longitudinal muscles on circular
the outside of the gut; and muscles
longitudinal
2. Circular muscles on the muscles
inside of the gut.
They are antagonistic = 2
muscles opposes the action of
one another to bring about
movement. (When 1 muscle
contracts, the other relaxes Part of the gut wall
and vice versa.) LABEL YOUR DIAGRAM NOW!
What is Peristalsis?
Contraction of the circular muscles always constricts the
lumen (becomes narrower and longer)
Contraction of the longitudinal muscles always dilates/
expands the lumen (becomes widen and shorter).
circular muscles
constrict the
lumen
longitudinal
muscles dilates
the lumen
lumen
Contraction of Circular muscles
• When the circular muscles contract, the longitudinal
muscles relax.
• The diameter of the gut decreases lumen constricts
(becomes narrower and longer)
• Food is squeezed forward from original position.
circular muscles
contract
longitudinal
muscles relax
food mass is
pushed forward
wall constricts to push food forward
Contraction of Longitudinal muscles
• When the circular muscles relax, the longitudinal muscles
contract.
• The diameter of the gut increases lumen dilates/
expand (becomes widen and shorter)
• Food enters the lumen created.
wall dilates to allow food to enter circular
muscles relax
longitudinal
muscles contract
food mass enters
What happens during breathing & swallowing?
Both food and air
must pass through
the pharynx when
pharynx
they enter the body.
What happens during breathing & swallowing?
Normally, air
passes into the
pharynx
trachea
(windpipe) while air
food passes into the
oesophagus.
oesophagus
trachea
(windpipe)
What happens during breathing & swallowing?
During breathing,
the larynx is
pharynx
lowered and the
glottis is open. air
larynx
(voice-box)
oesophagus
glottis
trachea
(windpipe)
What happens during breathing & swallowing?
During swallowing,
the larynx is raised
and the glottis is
covered by the pharynx
epiglottis. This
prevents food food
particles
particles from
entering the
epiglottis
trachea. oesophagus
glottis
larynx
(voice-box)
trachea
(windpipe)
What happens during breathing & swallowing?
Food particles then
pass down the
oesophagus by pharynx
peristalsis.
food
epiglottis particles
glottis oesophagus
larynx
(voice-box)
trachea
(windpipe)
What happens during breathing & swallowing?
Occasionally, small
particles of food or
water may get into
the larynx or
trachea. food
particles
larynx
(voice-box)
trachea
(windpipe)
What happens during breathing & swallowing?
This automatically
induces violent
coughing to force
the food particles or food
water out and to particles
prevent choking.
larynx
(voice-box)
trachea
(windpipe)
How is food digested in
our body?
Stations:
Mouth
Oesophagus
Stomach
Small Intestines
Large intestines
Anus
THE PROCESS OF DIGESTION
food
Food enters the mouth.
STATION 1: 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.
saliva salivary
gland
STATION 1: MOUTH
Chemical digestion in the mouth:
Action of salivary amylase:
Starch maltose
The pH of saliva is neutral (around pH
7). Salivary amylase is active at this pH.
Physical digestion in the mouth:
Chewing by teeth breaks the food up into
smaller pieces. This increases the
surface area to volume ratio for
saliva salivary
salivary amylase to work on.
gland
STATION 1: MOUTH
The tongue rolls the food into
small, slippery, round masses
or boli (singular: bolus).
bolus
STATION 2: OESOPHAGUS
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.
Gravity also helps the food to
pass down the oesophagus.
No digestion occurs here. bolus
STATION 3: STOMACH
Food passes into the
stomach. bolus
stomach
STATION 3: 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 breaks up
the food. Peristalsis also
mixes the food well with gastric
gastric juice. juice
food gastric
gland
STATION 3: STOMACH
pepsin
protein
polypeptide
Gastric juice is a dilute
solution of
hydrochloric acid
(about pH 2) and two
enzymes, pepsin and
rennin.
rennin
milk protein curdled milk pyloric
protein sphincter
STATION 3: STOMACH
pepsin
protein
polypeptide
The dilute hydrochloric acid:
1. stops the action of
salivary amylase by
denaturing it;
2. changes the inactive
forms of the enzymes,
pepsinogen and
prorennin, in the gastric
juice, to the active forms,
pepsin and rennin
respectively;
3. provides a slightly acidic rennin
medium suitable for the
action of the gastric
enzymes; and milk protein curdled milk pyloric
4. kills certain potentially protein sphincter
harmful microorganisms
in food.
STATION 3: STOMACH
pepsin
protein
polypeptide
The proteases pepsin and
rennin act on proteins.
Action of Pepsin:
proteins polypeptides
Action of Rennin:
caseinogen casein
Rennin clots or curdles milk
proteins by converting the
soluble protein caseinogen
into insoluble casein. This is rennin
necessary because milk proteins
would pass through the the
duodenum as easily as water and milk protein curdled milk
would not be digested by pepsin. pyloric
protein sphincter
Insoluble casein remains long
enough in the stomach to be
digested by pepsin.
STATION 3: STOMACH
Food normally remains in
the stomach for about
three to four hours. chyme
The partly digested food
becomes liquefied,
forming chyme.
stomach
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
Chyme passes in small
amounts into the
duodenum when the
pyloric sphincter relaxes
and opens. chyme
Structure:
Around 6m long!!!
It consists U-shaped stomach
duodenum (first part of pyloric
sphincter
small intestine), jejunum
and the much coiled ileum.
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
3 types of digestion occurs here:
1. Carbohydrate digestion (continues from the mouth)
2. Protein digestion (continues from the stomach)
3. Fat digestion (1st time digestion!)
3 other organs associated with digestion here:
1. Liver – produces bile and store in gall bladder
2. Gall bladder – releases the bile
3. Pancreas – secretes pancreatic juice
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
bile
Chyme enters the small bile duct
intestine. It stimulates: pancreatic juice
pancreatic duct
1. Intestinal glands to secrete
intestinal juice.
2. Pancreas to secrete
pancreatic juice. The
pancreatic juice passes
through the pancreatic duct
into the duodenum.
3. Gall bladder to release bile. intestinal juice
Bile does not contain
enzymes. Bile passes through
the bile duct into the
duodenum.
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
During digestion in the small intestine,the chyme stimulates:
Intestinal glands Pancreas Gall bladder
To Secrete… To Secrete… To Release…
Intestinal juice: Pancreatic juice: Bile (passes
1. Enterokinase 1. Pancreatic through bile
2. Erepsin amylase duct)
3. Maltase 2. Pancreatic lipase
4. Sucrase 3. Trypsinogen
5. Lactase
6. Intestinal lipase
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
Intestinal juice is secreted by intestinal gland.
Intestinal juice consists of 6 digestive enzymes:
1. Enterokinase: inactive trypsinogen active trypsin
2. Maltase: maltose glucose + glucose
3. Lactase: lactose glucose + galactose
4. Sucrase: sucrose glucose + fructose
5. Erepsin: polypeptides amino acids
6. Intestinal lipase: fats fatty acids + glycerol
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
Pancreas secretes PANCREATIC JUICE.
Pancreatic juice consists of 3 digestive enzymes:
1. Pancreatic amylase: starch maltose
2. Pancreatic lipase: fats fatty acids + glycerol
3. Trypsin: protein polypeptides
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
Liver produces bile and stores in the gall bladder.
Gall bladder releases the bile via the bile duct.
Bile is not an enzyme!
Bile is an alkaline greenish-yellow liquid containing bile
salts and bile pigment.
Function of bile:
Bile emulsifies fats breaks up fat into minute fat
globules thereby increasing the surface area of the fat
molecules for lipase to act on.
More about fat digestion…
In the small intestine, bile salts
big
emulsify fats.
drop of
They lower the surface tension of + fat
the fats, that is, they reduce the
attractive forces between the fat bile salts
molecules.
This causes the fats to break into
tiny fat droplets suspended in
water, forming an emulsion.
tiny fat
Note that this is just a physical droplets
break-up, but no chemical
digestion of fat molecules has
Bile salts emulsify fats
occurred.
into tiny fat droplets.
More about fat digestion…
Emulsification increases the
surface area to volume ratio tiny fat
of the fats, speeding up their droplets
digestion by lipase.
+
Emulsified fats are digested
lipase
by lipases (pancreatic and
intestinal lipases) to fatty
acids and glycerol.
fatty acids + glycerol
Bile salts emulsify fats
into tiny fat droplets.
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINE
bile
All three fluids (intestinal bile duct
pancreatic juice
juice, pancreatic juice &
pancreatic duct
bile) are alkaline.
The alkalis:
1. Neutralise the acidic
chyme
2. Provide a suitable alkaline
medium for the action of
the pancreatic and
intestinal enzymes. intestinal juice
STATION 4: SMALL INTESTINES
The digested food (simple
sugars, amino acids, fatty acids
& glycerol) are absorbed by the
villi of the small intestine,
especially of the jejunum & the
ileum.
Water and mineral salts
are absorbed from the
undigested food material.
STATION 5: LARGE INTESTINES
Structure:
• Consists of the colon & rectum (muscular tube).
Processes:
• No digestion occurs here.
• Water and mineral salts are absorbed from the
undigested food material. (same as the small intestines!)
• Faeces are stored temporarily in the rectum.
STATION 5: THE ANUS
• Faeces are egested through the anus.
• This is the last station. All food particles, please
alight via the anus. We thank you for traveling
with us.
How is food absorbed by
our body?
Definition of absorption
End products of digestion
Adaptation of the small intestines
Structure of the villus
How are nutrients absorbed?
Definition of Absorption
Absorption is the process whereby
digested food is taken into the body
cell.
End products of Digestion
Carbohydrates:
• Simple sugars (glucose, galactose & fructose)
Protein:
• Amino acids
Fats:
• Fatty acids + glycerol
How is the small intestine adapted for
absorption?
1. INCREASES THE SURFACE AREA FOR ABSORPTION
The inner walls of the small intestine are thrown into
numerous transverse folds and furrows.
The small intestine also has numerous minute finger-like
projections called villi projecting into the intestinal cavity.
These villi further increase the surface area; the
epithelial cells of the villi, in turn, bear numerous microvilli
2. REDUCES BARRIER TO DIFFUSION
Villi have thin walls epithelium is only ONE cell thick.
How is the small intestine adapted for
absorption?
3. PROVIDES SUFFICIENT TIME FOR ABSORPTION
The length of the small intestine is around 6m which is
long enough to provide sufficient time for absorption.
4. CARRIES AWAY ABSORBED FOOD SUBSTANCES +
CONTINUAL REMOVAL MAINTAINS A CONCENTRATION
GRADIENT FOR ABSORPTION
The villi of the small intestine are richly supplied with
blood capillaries and lymphatic capillaries (lacteal).
Structure of the Villi
Structure of the Villi
The Structure of the Villi
Between the bases of the villi are the minute
openings of the intestinal glands that secrete
intestinal juice.
The intestinal wall and the villi are richly
supplied with blood vessels & lymphatic vessels
to carry away the absorbed substances.
In each villus is a lacteal or lymphatic capillary
by blood capillaries.
The lymphatic capillaries of the villi transport
fats while the blood vessels transport sugars
and amino acids away from the intestine.
Adaptation of the villus for absorption
Minute/ small opening at the base of the
villi helps in the production of intestinal
juice that contains enzymes.
Each villi has its own blood capillary
system aids in the absorption of amino
acids and simple sugars
Each villi has its own lacteal system fatty
acids and glycerol can be absorbed easily
Finger-like projections Allows for more
efficient rate of absorption
How are nutrients absorbed into the body?
Simple Sugars & Amino acids
Absorbed into blood capillaries of the villus
via diffusion or active transport
Glycerol & fatty acids
Absorbed into the lacteal (lymphatic capillaries) of
the villus
via diffusion
Mineral salts
Absorbed into blood capillaries of the villus
via diffusion or active transport
Assimilation
Definition of assimilation
How simple sugars, amino acids and fats
are transported?
The Liver
Assimilation
Definition:
The transport, modification and utilization of
absorbed food
Simple sugars and amino acids are
transported by the hepatic portal vein to the
liver.
Fats are transported by the lymphatic
system to empty directly into the heart.
The Liver (Group work)
The largest gland in the body.
Refer to Pg 5 of your notes :
Match the following functions of the liver to their
respective descriptions and construct a mind map
titled “the Liver”.
Metabolism of glucose
Deamination of amino acids
Detoxification
Protein synthesis
Iron storage
Heat production
Bile production
