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