IBDP Biology Option - D - Summary
IBDP Biology Option - D - Summary
IBDP Biology Option - D - Summary
Nutrition
- Nutrition are chemical substances in food that are used in the human body
- Nutrition are sometimes essential, due to the inability of our body to produce it on our own
- Several nutrients such as minerals, vitamins (chemically diverse carbon compounds needed in
small amounts that cannot be synthesized by the body), some amino acids, and some fatty
acids
- Malnutrition is a deficiency, imbalance, or excess of specific nutrients in someones diet
Energy in our diet
- Carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins can be broken down into energy
- If energy from the foods is not enough, reserves of glycogen and fats can be metabolized
- Starvation are prolonged shortage of food up to the point where glycogen and fats are no
longer available that the body starts breaking down its own tissue
- Anorexia is a condition in which an individual does not eat, albeit the availability of foods
- Obesity is an excessive storage of fat in adipose tissue, due to taking more foods than needed
Energy content of a food
- Combustion can be used to measure the amounts of energy in a food
- The foods are being burned and temperature rise of the water is being recorded (along with
the amounts of water and mass of food)
Cholesterol and heart disease
- LDL is implicated in CHD
- Reducing dietary cholesterol has a small impact on reducing overall cholesterol, instead
consumption of saturated fats has been shown to increase LDL
- Genetic factors also play a role
Vitamin D deficiency in human
- Vitamin D allows calcium to be absorbed at a sufficient quantity
- Vitamin D deficiency lead to a disease known as osteomalacia
- Osteomalacia is an inadequate bone mineralization due to calcium not being deposited
- Vitamin D is found in fish, egg, dairy, and liver
- Vitamin D can be synthesized in the skin if UV light strikes the skin intensive enough
- The intensity of UV light during winter is too low
- The liver can store vitamin D
Vitamin C deficiency in human
- Ascorbic acid is needed for the synthesis of collagen fibers in many tissues
- Humans cannot synthesize it, so it must be taken dietarily
Phenylketonuria
- Phenylketonuria is when the level of phenylalanine in the blood is too high
- This is caused by a genetic mutations that prevents phenylalanine hydroxylase from being
synthesized sufficiently
- PKU is a genetic disorder that is caused by recessive allele
- The treatment of this disease is to eat phenylalanine rich foods such as meat, fish, nuts,
cheese, and beans at a low quantity
- Tyrosine supplementation might be necessary
- Fetus mother ensures that the concentration of phenylalanine is appropriate
- This is why phenylketonuria didn't developed until it reaches adulthood
- Phenylketonuria caused the brain and head to be reduced, causing mental retardation
Cholera
- Cholera is a disease caused by the infection of the gut with bacterium Vibrio Cholerae
- The bacteria releases toxins that can be absorbed by the body
- The toxins triggers the secretion of Cl- and HCO3- ions from the cell into the intestine
- Water will follow the concentration gradient, due to osmosis
- This can caused dehydration
Excessive stomach acid secretion
- The secretion of stomach acid is caused by proton pump
- These pumps donate H+ in turns of K ions from the stomach
- This makes the content of the stomach very acidic
- A naturally occurring mucus barrier protects the stomach lining
- In some people, the mucus barrier breaks, this condition is known as ulcers
- Circular muscle on top of the stomach can also be damaged and won’t prevent acid reflux
- This condition is often treated with proton-pump inhibitors
- Ulcers is caused by bacteria called Helicobacter pylori
- This is found out by using antibiotics that kills Helicobacter pylori
- Stress and excessive acid secretion is also known to cause ulcers
D.3, Liver
Functions of liver
- Liver absorbs toxic substances from blood and converts it into less toxic or non toxic
substances
- Liver also breaks down erythrocytes (RBC)
- RBC has a lifespan of 3 months
- Kupffer cell is a special macrophage that is located in the sinusoids (capillaries in liver cell)
- Kupffer cell breaks down RBC and allows its components to be recycled
- The RBC contains hemoglobin, which is splitted into heme and globin (protein)
- Globins are hydrolysed to amino acids, which will be carried away in blood
- Iron is removed from the heme group, and extracts a yellow colored substance called bile
pigment (bilirubin)
- The iron is moved to bone marrow to create brand new RBC, and the bile is carried to liver
- Hepatocytes can also converts cholesterol into bile salts which is part of bile
- Bile is needed to emulsify fats droplets
- Plasma protein (protein in our blood) are mostly produced by the liver
- Liver is able to regulate the amounts of substance that circulates around the body because the
blood that enters the liver (through hepatic portal vein) has been circulating around the body
first, such as to the small intestine
- They enter the liver from hepatic portal vein through a fenestrated blood vessels called
sinusoids
- Glucose is regulated by hepatocytes, and minerals and vitamins are stored in liver when they
are in surplus
Blood flow in the liver
- Hepatic portal vein>sinusoids (wider, more porous, and thinner than capillaries)
- Hepatic artery > capillaries > sinusoids
- Sinusoids > wider vessels that branches from the hepatic vein
Jaundice
- Yellowing of the skin and eyes due to the accumulation of bilirubin
- Caused by various disorders
- In infants, jaundice can caused brain damage
- In adults, it causes itchiness