UNIT – II

NUTRITION IN HUMANS

Digestion:

Digestion is the process of breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-
soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the body. It takes place in the digestive
system, which is made up of alimentary canal and organs such as liver and pancreas.

Alimentary Canal:

The organs of the digestive system are joined together in a long tube called Alimentary canal. It is
open at 2 ends, with the mouth at the anterior end and anus at the posterior end.

 mouth
 pharynx
 oesophagus
 stomach
 small intestine
 large intestine
 rectum
 anus

Accessory organs such as liver and pancreas also help in the process of digestion.

Stages of food processing:

The food has to undergo five stages of processing

*Ingestion: Intake of food.

*Digestion: The breaking down of complex food into soluble form.

*Absorption: The passing of soluble simple food into the blood stream of humans.

*Assimilation: The food molecules carried by the blood are absorbed by our body cells.

*Egestion: Undigested food is removed out of the body.

The breakdown of food:

The two major processes in the breakdown of food:

 Physical breakdown of food

 Chemical breakdown of food

Physical breakdown of food:

Physical digestion is also known as mechanical digestion. During mechanical digestion, food is
physically broken down into smaller pieces.
 The mouth is a good example for where mechanical digestion occurs.
  The teeth grind, cut, and shred food into smaller pieces. This increases the overall surface
area of the food being eaten which is important for chemical digestion.

Food that we ingest are large, insoluble molecules that cannot be absorbed through the gut. It needs
to be changed into small, soluble molecules.

It involves:

a)Chewing- Takes place in Mouth

b)Mixing & Churning- Takes place in Stomach and Intestine

c)Segmentation -Takes place in Intestine

Types of Teeth:

There are 4 different types of teeth. They are:

1. Incisors –
Shape: Chisel shaped
Function: Biting soft food like fruits
2. Canines -
Shape: Pointed
Function: Tearing tough food like meat
3. Premolars & 4. Molars
Shape: raised parts called cusps with grooves between them
Function: Crushing and Grinding

Two sets of Teeth:

 Milk teeth
 Permanent teeth

Milk Teeth:

Milk teeth are the first set of teeth in the growth of human. They are 20 in number and are usually
lost and replaced by permanent teeth. They emerge through the gums at about 6 months of age and
set is complete at the age of 3.
Permanent Teeth:

Permanent Teeth are the second set of teeth in human. They are 32 in number. They begin at the age
of 6 and is completed by about age 17.
Chemical breakdown of food:
Chemical digestion is done with various chemicals and will chemically break down the food into
simpler molecules.
 Two broad categories of chemicals used in chemical digestion are acids and enzymes.
Things like hydrochloric acid and amylase are specific examples.
 Amylase will be used in the mouth. That means the mouth is capable of doing both
chemical and mechanical digestion.
 Saliva contains the amylase enzyme which specifically targets sugars and starches.
 Teeth tear the food into smaller pieces, which gives the food a greater surface area for the
amylase to attack.

Enzymes:

Enzymes are proteins that function as biological catalyst.

A catalyst is substance that speeds up a chemical reaction with out being changed or used up in the
reaction. Digestive enzymes speed up the breakdown of large molecules into smaller ones.
(Digestive Enzymes: are the chemicals that break large insoluble food molecules into smaller
soluble molecules).

Salivary Glands:
The salivary glands produce saliva, which keeps the mouth and other parts of the digestive system
moist.
It also helps break down carbohydrates (with salivary amylase) and lubricates the passage of food
down from the pharynx to the esophagus to the stomach. There are three main pairs of salivary
glands:
-Parotid (means "near the ears”)
-Sub mandibular (means "under the mandible" that is, under the jaw-bone)
-sublingual glands (means "under the tongue")
Saliva: is the watery and usually somewhat frothy substance produced in the mouths of some
animals, including humans.
Saliva is 99% water, it also consists of a slimy substance called mucin and an enzyme called
Salivary amylase. The mucin coats the food and makes it easier to swallow.
Amylase breaks starches down into maltose and other smaller carbohydrates. Thus, digestion of
food occurs within the mouth, even before food reaches the stomach.

Oesophagus – Structure and Function:

 Oesophagus is a muscular organ – also called as gullet or food pipe.

 It connects mouth to stomach. When you have chewed your food it is made into a pellet
called bolus.
 Bolus is a ball-like mixture of food and saliva that forms in the mouth during the process of
chewing. The bolus is swallowed and travels down the oesophagus to the stomach for
digestion.

Peristalsis-
 Peristalsis is a series of wave-like muscle contractions that moves food along the digestive
tract.
 The process of peristalsis begins in the oesophagus when a bolus of food is swallowed.
 The strong wave-like motions of the smooth muscle in the oesophagus carry the food to the
stomach. Peristaltic waves also occur in the other parts of the alimentary canal to push the
food along.
Stomach:

 The stomach is a sac-like organ, the walls of the stomach are lined with glands which
secretes hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes (pepsin- digests protein).
 The hydrochloric acid kills many kind of bacteria in food and provides an acidic condition
which activates the enzyme pepsin.
 The pepsin then starts breaking down protein in the food.
 The chemical digestion is facilitated by the churning action of the stomach caused by
contraction and relaxation of smooth muscles. The partially digested food and gastric juices
is called as chyme. The food is prevented from leaving the stomach by two valves.

Small Intestine:

 Small intestine, a long, narrow, folded or coiled tube extending from the stomach to the large
intestine; it is the region where most digestion and absorption of food takes place.
 It is about 6.7 to 7.6 metres (22 to 25 feet) long and highly coiled.
 Three successive regions of the small intestine are:

-duodenum,
-jejunum,
-ileum.

These regions form one continuous tube, and, although each area exhibits certain characteristic
differences, there are no distinctly marked separations between them.
  The first area, the duodenum, is adjacent to the stomach; it is only 23 to 28 cm (9 to 11
inches) long, has the widest diameter.
Ducts from the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas enter the duodenum to provide digestive juices that
neutralize acids coming from the stomach and help digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
 The second region, the jejunum, in the central section of the abdomen, about two-fifths of
the remaining tract.
The colour of the jejunum is deep red because of its extensive blood supply; its peristaltic
movements are rapid and vigorous.
 The ileum is located in the lower abdomen. Its walls are narrower and thinner than in the
previous section, blood supply is more limited, peristaltic movements are slower.

The liver is an accessory digestive organ that produces;

Bile is a greenish-yellow fluid that is made and released by the liver and stored in the gallbladder,
which is then released into duodenum.

Bile contains bile salts, which make lipids accessible to the water-soluble enzymes. Bile aids in
digestion by breaking down fats into fatty acids, which can be absorbed into the body.
The pancreas produces pancreatic juices containing enzymes that digest proteins, fats and
carbohydrates.
The chyme is mixed with pancreatic juices, an alkaline solution that neutralizes the acidity of
chyme from the stomach.
Pancreatic lipase acts on fat globules and converts them into glycerol and fatty acids that are small,
energy molecules. The mixture of liquids from the stomach, liver and pancreas pass on into the
small intestine.
Villi:
 Small, finger-like projections that extend into the lumen of the small intestine.
 Each villus is approximately 0.5–1.6 mm in length (in humans), and has many microvilli.
 They increase the intestinal absorptive surface area, providing exceptionally efficient
absorption of nutrients.

 Carbohydrates are broken down into sugars by amylase

 Proteins are broken down to amino acids by pepsin
 Fats are broken down to fatty acids and glycerol by lipase
All these small molecules are soluble and can pass through the wall of the small intestine. They are
carried by the blood to all cells of the body.

Large Intestine:
 The long, tube-like organ that is connected to the small intestine at one end and the anus at
the other.
 The large intestine is wider and shorter than the small intestine (approximately 1.5 metres, or
5 feet) and has a smooth inner wall.
 Unlike the small intestine, the large intestine produces no digestive enzymes.
 Chemical digestion is completed in the small intestine before the chyme reaches the large
intestine.
 The primary function of the large intestine, however, is absorption of water and electrolytes
from digestive residues and storage of fecal matter until it can be expelled.
 The faeces are removed from the body through the anus, perhaps once or twice a day, in a
process called egestion or defecation.