CHAPTER-1

LIFE PROCESSES
TOPIC: NUTRITION

NUTRITION
• Nutrition: The process by which an organism takes food and utilizes it, is
called nutrition.
• Need for Nutrition: Organisms need the energy to perform various activities.
The energy is supplied by the nutrients. Organisms need various raw
materials for growth and repair. These raw materials are provided by
nutrients.
• Nutrients: Materials which provide nutrition to organisms are called
nutrients. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are the main nutrients and are
called macronutrients. Minerals and vitamins are required in small amounts
and hence are called micronutrients.
• Modes of Nutrition
1. Autotrophic Nutrition.
2. Heterotrophic Nutrition.

Autotrophic Nutrition
The mode of nutrition in which an organism prepares its own food is called
autotrophic nutrition. Green plants and blue-green algae follow the autotrophic
mode of nutrition.
The organisms which carry out autotrophic nutrition are called autotrophs (green
plants).

• Autotrophic nutrition is fulfilled by the process, by which autotrophs intake

CO2 and H2O, and convert these into carbohydrates in the presence of
chlorophyll, sunlight is called photosynthesis.
Equation

Nutrition in Plants
Green plants prepare their own food. They make food in the presence of sunlight.
Sunlight provides energy’, carbon dioxide and water are the raw materials and
chloroplast is the site where food is made.

Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants prepare food is called photosynthesis.
• During this process, the solar energy is converted into chemical energy and
carbohydrates are formed.
• Green leaves are the main site of photosynthesis.
• The green portion of the plant contains a pigment chloroplast, chlorophyll
(green pigment).
The whole process of photosynthesis can be shown by the following equation:

Raw Materials for Photosynthesis

• Sunlight
• Chlorophyll: Sunlight absorbed by chloroplast
• CO2: Enters through stomata, and oxygen (O2) is released as a byproduct
through stomata on the leaf.
• Water: Water + dissolved minerals like nitrogen, phosphorous etc., are taken
up by the roots from the soil.
• Site of Photosynthesis: Chloroplast in the leaf. Chloroplast contains
chlorophyll (green pigment)

Main Events of Photosynthesis

• Absorption of light energy by chlorophyll.
• Conversion of light energy into chemical energy + splitting (breaking) of
water into hydrogen and oxygen.
• Reduction of CO2 to carbohydrates.
• Sunlight activates chlorophyll, which leads to splitting of the water molecule.
• The hydrogen, released by the splitting of a water molecule is utilized for the
reduction of carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrates.
• Oxygen is the by-product of photosynthesis.
• Carbohydrate is subsequently converted into starch and is stored in leaves and
other storage parts.
• The splitting of water molecules is a part of the light reaction.
Other steps are part of the dark reaction during photosynthesis.
Stomata
• Stomata: These are tiny pores present in the epidermis of leaf or stem through
which gaseous exchange and transpiration occur.

Functions of stomata
• Exchange of gases, O2 and CO2.
• Loses a large amount of water (water vapour) during transpiration.

Opening and closing of stomatal pores

• The opening and closing of stomatal pores are controlled by the turgidity of
guard cells.
• When guard cells uptake water from surrounding cells, they swell to become
a turgid body, which enlarges the pore in between (Stomatal Opening).
While, when water is released, they become flaccid shrinking to close the
pore (Stomatal Closing).
Significance of Photosynthesis
• Photosynthesis is the main way through which solar energy is made available
for different living beings.
• Green plants are the main producers of food in the ecosystem. All other
organisms directly or indirectly depend on green plants for food.
The process of photosynthesis also helps in maintaining the balance of carbon
dioxide and oxygen in the air.

HETEROTROPHIC NUTRITION
▪ Generally, derive energy from plants and animal sources
▪ Mainly of three types: holozoic, parasitic, and saprophytic
▪ Holozoic nutrition: Nutrition involving engulfment of the whole or part of a
plant or an animal, either in solid or in liquid state, is called animal-like or
holozoic nutrition. Most of the free-living protozoans and animals are
holozoic.
▪ Saprozoic nutrition: A few animals do not ingest solid food. Instead, they
secrete digestive enzymes directly onto their food, which are dead or
decaying matters, and then suck the food digested outside the body. This is
called saprozoic nutrition. Saprozoic organisms include spiders, house-fly etc.
▪ Parasitic nutrition: Parasites thrive on liquid food material obtained from the
body of the host, and their mode of nutrition is designated as parasitic
nutrition. The host may or may not suffer effects by this relationship. Parasitic
organisms include Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, Taenia and Ascaris.
▪ Symbiotic nutrition: The situation in which two organisms or animals might
live in association and derive nutrition from each other. This is the case with
some symbionts whose nutrition is referred to as symbiotic nutrition or
mutualism. For example, Escherichia coli that live in the intestine of man
synthesizes vitamin B12, which is used by man and the E. coli receives, in
return, simpler food from the intestine of man.

Nutrition in Amoeba
• Amoeba is a unicellular animal which follows the holozoic mode of nutrition.
• In holozoic nutrition, the digestion of food follows after the ingestion of food.
Thus, digestion takes place inside the body of the organism.
Holozoic nutrition happens in five steps, viz. ingestion, digestion, absorption,
assimilation and egestion.

Steps of Holozoic Nutrition

• Ingestion: The process of taking in the food is called ingestion.
• Digestion: The process of breaking complex food substances into simple
molecules is called digestion. Simple molecules, thus obtained, can be
absorbed by the body.
• Absorption: The process of absorption of digested food is called absorption.
• Assimilation: The process of utilization of digested food, for energy and for
growth and repair is called assimilation.
• Egestion: The process of removing undigested food from the body is called
egestion.
Amoeba is a unicellular animal which follows the holozoic mode of nutrition.
The cell membrane of amoeba keeps on protruding into pseudopodia.
Amoeba surrounds a food particle with pseudopodia and makes a food
vacuole. The food vacuole contains food particle and water. Digestive
enzymes are secreted in the food vacuole and digestion takes place. After that,
digested food is absorbed from the food vacuole. Finally, the food vacuole
moves near the cell membrane and undigested food is expelled out.

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM & DIGESTION

Human beings are complex animals, which have a complex digestive system. The
human digestive system is composed of an alimentary canal and some accessory
glands. The alimentary canal is divided into several parts, like oesophagus, stomach,
small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. Salivary gland, liver and pancreas
are the accessory glands which lie outside the alimentary canal.

Structure of the Human Digestive System

The human digestive system comprises of the alimentary canal and associated
digestive glands.
• Alimentary Canal: It comprises of mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small
intestine and large intestine.
• Associated Glands: Main associated glands are
o Salivary gland
o Gastric Glands
o Liver
o Pancreas
Mouth or Buccal Cavity
• The mouth has teeth and tongue. Salivary glands are also present in the
mouth.
• The tongue has gustatory receptors which perceive the sense of taste.
• The tongue helps in turning over the food so that saliva can be properly mixed
in it.
• Teeth help in breaking down the food into smaller particles so that,
swallowing of food becomes easier.
• There are four types of teeth in human beings. The incisor teeth are used for
cutting the food.
• The canine teeth are used for tearing the food and for cracking hard
substances.
The premolars are used for the coarse grinding of food. The molars are used
for fine grinding of food.
Salivary glands secrete saliva
Saliva makes the food slippery which makes it easy to swallow the food. Saliva
also contains the enzyme salivary amylase or ptyalin. Salivary amylase digests
starch and converts it into sucrose, (maltose).

Oesophagus
Taking food from mouth to stomach by Peristaltic movement.
Peristaltic movement
Rhythmic contraction of muscles of the lining of the alimentary canal to push the
food forward.

Stomach
• Stomach is a bag-like organ. Highly muscular walls of the stomach help in
churning the food.
• The walls of the stomach secrete hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid kills
the germs which may be present in food.
• Moreover, it makes the medium inside the stomach as acidic. The acidic
medium is necessary for gastric enzymes to work.
• The enzyme pepsin, secreted in the stomach, does partial digestion of protein.
The mucus, secreted by the walls of the stomach saves the inner lining of the
stomach from getting damaged from hydrochloric acid.
Small Intestine
It is a highly coiled tube-like structure. The small intestine is longer than the large
intestine but its lumen is smaller than that of the large intestine. The small intestine
is divided into three parts, like duodenum, jejunum and ileum.

Liver
Liver is the largest organ in the human body. The liver manufactures bile, which
gets stored in the gall bladder. From the gall bladder, bile is released as and when
required

Pancreas
Pancreas is situated below the stomach. It secretes pancreatic juice which contains
many digestive enzymes.
Bile and pancreatic juice go to the duodenum through a hepatopancreatic duct. Bile
breaks down fat into smaller particles. This process is called emulsification of fat.
After that, the enzyme lipase digests fat into fatty acids and glycerol. Trypsin and
chymotrypsin are enzymes which digest protein into amino acids. Complex
carbohydrates are digested into glucose. The major part of digestion takes place in
the duodenum.
No digestion takes place in the jejunum
The inner wall in the ileum is projected into numerous finger-like structures, called
villi. Villi increase the surface area inside the ileum so that optimum absorption can
take place. Moreover, villi also reduce the lumen of the ileum so that food can stay
for a longer duration in it, for optimum absorption. Digested food is absorbed by
villi.

Large Intestine
• Large intestine is smaller than the small intestine.
• Undigested food goes into the large intestine.
• Some water and salt are absorbed by the walls of the large intestine. After
that, the undigested food goes to the rectum, from where it is expelled out
through the anus.
• Large Intestine absorb excess of water. The rest of the material is removed
from the body via the anus. (Egestion).