Human

Nutrition 1
3

2
CSEC Biology 4

6
7

9 10

11

12
13
Objectives
1. Discuss the importance of a balanced diet in human.
2. Discuss the chemical and physical properties (solubility) of carbohydrates,
proteins, lipids;
3. Perform tests to distinguish among food substances such as starch, protein,
lipids, reducing and non-reducing sugars;
4. Explain how hydrolysis and condensation (dehydration synthesis) is used
during and after digestion
5. Explain the role and importance of enzymes
6. Investigate the effect of temperature and pH on the activity of the enzymes
catalase or amylase
7. Deduce from tables and graphs the effects of temperature and pH on
enzyme activity
8. Define mastication and the role of teeth in the mechanical breakdown of
food.
9. Draw a simple diagrams of the alimentary canal and internal structure of a
tooth.
10. Relate the structures of the human alimentary canal to their functions.
11. Draw simple diagram of villi and role in absorption of products of digestion.
12. Describe what happens to the products of digestion after their absorption.
13. Discuss how products are used and what happens to excess.
 NUTRITION

A balanced diet is one in which the

quantity and proportions of nutrients
taken into the body, is adequate to
maintain good health. This diet include
organic and inorganic nutrients, water
and fibre.
Balance Diet
Balance Diet
 NUTRITION

•Qualityintake that allows you to function at

your best and promotes health.
•Has maximum nutrient
•Quantityof intake that promotes a healthy
body weight.
• Belly full
 NUTRITION

•Actions in the body include:

• Ingestion
• Digestion

• Absorption

• Transport

• Metabolism

• Excretion
 CLASSIFYING NUTRIENTS

There are 6 Classes of Nutrients

1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids (fats)
3. Proteins
4. Vitamins
5. Minerals
6. Water
BODY COMPOSITION
 DESCRIBING THE NUTRIENTS

•There are several ways to classify the

classes of nutrients.
• Organic or inorganic
• Essential or nonessential

• Macronutrient or micronutrient

• Energy yielding or not

 CLASSIFYING NUTRIENTS

•Essential nutrients – nutrients the body

either cannot make or cannot make enough
of to meet its needs.
•These nutrients must be obtained from foods
(ingested in some manner)
• Examples:

•Vitamins
•Calcium, iron, and other minerals
•Some of the amino acids
 CLASSIFYING NUTRIENTS

•Nonessential nutrients – body can make

from other nutrients ingested
→ Examples:
•Cholesterol
•Some amino acids
 CLASSIFYING NUTRIENTS BY
COMPOSITION
•Organic nutrients - contain carbon
•Carbohydrates
•Lipids
•Proteins
•Vitamins
•Inorganic nutrients - do not contain carbon
•Minerals
• Water
 QUANTITY NEEDED

• Macronutrients: need in relatively large amounts

 Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins

• Micronutrients: need in relatively small amounts

All other nutrients (vitamins and



minerals)
 CLASSIFYING NUTRIENTS

•Energy-yielding nutrients (3):

• Carbohydrates
• Fats (lipids)

• Proteins

1. Which of the above gives the largest

amount of energy?
 A LITTLE MORE ON ENERGY

•Measure energy in kilocalories in U.S.

•What most think of as a “calorie” is really a
kilocalorie
•Kcal = amount of energy needed to raise the

temperature of 1 kg of water by 10C

•Measure energy in kilojoules (kJ) in most
other countries
 ENERGY-YIELDING NUTRIENTS

•Carbohydrates: carbon C, hydrogen H, oxygen O

• Body’s primary source of energy

There are three major categories of carbohydrates:

Monosaccharide – has only one saccharide molecule, is the simplest

sugar eg. glucose, fructose, galactose.

Disaccharide – made up of two sacchardie molecule eg. sucrose,

maltose, lactose

Polysaccharide – made up of 3 or more saccharide molecule eg.

starch, glycogen, cellulose
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
 ENERGY-YIELDING NUTRIENTS

•Lipids: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but in different

proportions from those in carbohydrates. They are of two
types:
Fats – which are solid at room temperature and usually from animal
sources.
Oils – which are liquid at room temperature and usually from plant
sources.
Lipid Structure
Lipids
Lipids
 ENERGY-YIELDING NUTRIENTS

•Proteins: C, H, O, N, S
Protein is used for energy only when there isn’t
•

any carbohydrate available as an energy

source.

There are 20 different amino acids of which 9 are essential.

There are different categories of proteins:
First class proteins/proteins of high biological value – obtained mainly
from animal sources and from one plant source soya beans.
Second class/proteins of low biological value – obtained mainly from
plant sources.
Protein Sources
Protein Sources
 Balanced diet
• A balanced diet gives your body the
nutrients it needs to function correctly.

• To get the nutrition you need, most of your

daily calories should come from:
• fresh fruits
• fresh vegetables
• whole grains
• legumes
• nuts
• lean proteins
• The number of calories in a food refers to the amount of
energy stored in that food.

• The body uses calories from food for walking, thinking,

breathing, and other important functions.

• The average person needs about 2,000 calories every day

to maintain their weight, but the amount will depend on
their age, sex, and physical activity level.

• Males tend to need more calories than females, and

people who exercise need more calories than people who
don’t.
Current guidelines list the following calorie intakes
for males and females of different ages:
Calorie
Person
requirements
Sedentary children: 2–8 years 1,000–1,400
Active children: 2–8 years 1,000–2,000
Females: 9–13 years 1,400–2,200
Males: 9–13 years 1,600–2,600
Active females: 14–30 years 2,400
Sedentary females: 14–30 years 1,800–2,000
Active males: 14–30 years 2,800–3,200
Sedentary males: 14–30 years 2,000–2,600
Active people: 30 years and over 2,000–3,000
Sedentary people: 30 years and over 1,600–2,400
• The source of your daily calories are also
important.

• Foods that provide mainly calories and very

little nutrition are known as “empty
calories.”
• Examples of foods that provide empty
calories include:
• cakes, cookies, and donuts
• processed meats
• energy drinks and sodas
• fruit drinks with added sugar
• ice cream
• chips and fries
• pizza
• sodas
• A balanced diet supplies the nutrients
your body needs to work effectively.

• Without balanced nutrition, your body is

more prone to disease, infection, fatigue,
and low performance.
• Children who don’t get enough healthy
foods may face growth and developmental
problems, poor academic performance,
and frequent infections.

• They can also develop unhealthy eating

habits that may persist into adulthood.
• Without exercise, they’ll also have a
higher risk of obesity and various diseases
that make up metabolic syndrome, such
as type 2 diabetes and high blood
pressure.

• According to the Center for Science in the

Public Interest, 4 of the top 10 leading
causes of death in the United States are
directly linked to diet.
• These are:
• heart disease
• cancer
• stroke
• type 2 diabetes
• Malnutrition is any diet outside of a
balanced diet.

• Malnutrition will lead to :

• Obesity
• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Kwashiorkor
• Marasmus
What Is Body Mass Index?

• Body mass index (BMI) is an estimate of body

fat based on height and weight. It doesn’t
measure body fat directly, but instead uses an
equation to make an approximation.

• BMI can help determine whether a person is at

an unhealthy or healthy weight.
• A high BMI can be a sign of too much fat
on the body, while a low BMI can be a sign
of too little fat on the body.

• The higher a person’s BMI, the greater

their chances of developing certain
serious conditions, such as heart disease,
high blood pressure, and diabetes.
• A very low BMI can also cause health
problems, including bone loss, decreased
immune function, and anemia.

• While BMI can be useful in screening

children and adults for body weight
problems, it does have its limits.
• BMI may overestimate the amount of body fat
in athletes and other people with very
muscular bodies.

• It may also underestimate the amount of body

fat in older adults and other people who have
lost muscle mass.

• BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight

by the square of their height.
• Adults age 20 and older can interpret their BMI
based on the following standard weight status
categories.

• These are the same for men and women of all

ages and body types:

BMI Weight Status

Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 – 24.9 Normal
25.0 – 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and above Obese
Kawashiorkor
Kawashiorkor
 Protein deficiency

• Marasmus –
• the child is fretful rather than apathetic and is
skinny.
• Hair is red and thin
Marasmus
 WATER

•Water (H2O)
• Essential
• Organic or inorganic?

• Need to:

•Dissolve water soluble

vitamins
•provide the aqueous

environment need for

chemical reactions in the
body.
 VITAMINS
•Essential
•Organic, micronutrient
•Not energy-yielding
•Fairly easily destroyed/damaged
•Fat soluble vitamins include A,D,E,K
•Water soluble vitamins include B complex
and C.
 Vitamin A (Retinal)

• Helps form and maintains healthy teeth,

skeletal and soft tissue, mucous
membranes, and skin.
• promotes good vision, especially in low
light, needed for reproduction and breast-
feeding
• known as retinol because it produces the
pigments in the retina of the eye.
• Retinol is an active form of vitamin A
 Vitamin A (Retinal)

• Carotenoids are dark coloured dyes found

in plant foods that can turn into a form of
vitamin A.
• One such carotenoid is beta-carotene. Beta-
carotene is an antioxidant.
• Antioxidants protect cells from damage caused by
unstable substances called free radicals.
• Free radicals are believed to contribute to certain
chronic diseases and play a role in the
degenerative processes seen in aging.
 Vitamin A (Retinal)

• Sources
• Animal sources, such as eggs, meat, milk,
cheese, cream, liver, kidney, cod, and halibut
fish oil.

• Plant sources of beta-carotene are carrots,

pumpkin, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, pink
grapefruit, apricots, broccoli, spinach, and
most dark green, leafy vegetables.
 Vitamin A (Retinal)

• Deficiency
• If you don't get enough vitamin A:
• you are more susceptible to infectious
diseases
• reduced vision in dim light (night-blindness)
• significant reduction in growth of young
children
• skin and mucus membranes become dry and
later they may disintegrate or degenerate.
 Vitamin A (Retinal)

• If you get too much vitamin A (usually

resulting from prolonged consumption of
vitamin supplements):
• you can become sick (vomiting)
• large doses of vitamin A can also cause birth
defects in women who are pregnant
• hair loss
• double vision
• liver and bone damage
Vitamins D (Calciferol/
Cholecalciferol)
• help the body absorb calcium, vitamin D
also helps the body keep the right amount
of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.
• It can be obtained from the action of U.V.
rays on skin.
Vitamins D (Calciferol/
Cholecalciferol)
• Vitamin D is found in the following foods:
• Dairy products
• Cheese
• Butter
• Cream
• Fortified milk (all milk in the U.S. is fortified with vitamin D)
• Oily fish eg. sardines, mackerel, herein
• Fish – liver oils
• Fortified cereals
• Margarine
• Egg yolk
Vitamins D (Calciferol/
Cholecalciferol)
• Deficiency
• When vitamin D is not enough:
• In young children rickets (malformed bone) may
result
• In adults Osteomalacia (soft bones particularly in
the sense of bone weakened by demineralization)
and Osteoporosis (the thinning of bone tissue and
loss of bone density over time)
Rickets
Osteoporosis/ Osteomalacia
Vitamins D (Calciferol/
Cholecalciferol)

• When vitamin D is in excess:

• Deposition in of vitamin D in the kidneys if it is
not excreted in the urine
• Kidney stones, vomiting, and muscle
weakness
Vitamins D (Calciferol/
Cholecalciferol)
• When vitamin D is in excess:
• Deposition in of vitamin D in the kidneys if it is
not excreted in the urine
• Kidney stones, vomiting, and muscle
weakness
 Vitamin K (phyloquinone)

• plays an important role in blood clotting

• it converts the soluble protein prothrombin to
insoluble thrombin.

• Sources
cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and other
green leafy vegetables, cereals, soybeans,
and other vegetables.
Vitamin K is also made by the bacteria that
line the gastrointestinal tract.
 Vitamin K (phyloquinone)

• Deficiency
• Individuals with vitamin K deficiency are
usually more likely to have bruising and
bleeding due to a prolonged blood clotting
time.
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
• Helps the body cells convert carbohydrates into
energy during the process of respiration.
• It is also essential for the functioning of the
heart, muscles, and nervous system.
• Sources
• fortified breads, cereals, pasta, whole grains
(especially wheat germ), yeast extract, lean meats
(especially pork), kidney, heart, fish, dried beans,
peas, and soybeans.
• Dairy products, fruits, and vegetables are not very
high in thiamine, but when consumed in large
amounts, they become a significant source.
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

• Deficiency
• This can lead to a disease called beri-beri, the symptoms
include:
• Difficulty walking
• Loss of feeling (sensation) in hands and feet
• Loss of muscle function or paralysis of the lower legs
• Mental confusion/speech difficulties
• Pain
• Strange eye movements (nystagmus)
• Tingling
• Vomiting
• A deficiency of thiamine may a cause weakness, fatigue,
psychosis, and nerve damage.
 Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

• N.B. A lot of alcohol makes it hard for the

body to absorb thiamine from foods.
Unless those with alcoholism receive
higher-than-normal amounts of thiamine to
make up for the difference, the body will
not get enough of the substance.
•
 Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

• It is important for body growth and red

blood cell production
• helps in releasing energy
from carbohydrates during respiration, as
well as during in the making of respiratory
enzymes and electron transport.
 Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

• Sources
• Lean meats, yeast extract, eggs, legumes,
nuts, green leafy vegetables, dairy
products, and milk provide riboflavin in the
diet. Breads and cereals are often fortified
with riboflavin.
• Because riboflavin is destroyed by
exposure to light, foods with riboflavin
should not be stored in glass containers
that are exposed to light.
 Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

• Deficiency
• Symptoms of significant deficiency
syndromes include sore throat, swelling of
mucous membranes, mouth or lip sores,
anaemia, tiredness and skin disorders.
Because riboflavin is a water-soluble
vitamin, leftover amounts leave the body
through the urine. There is no known
poisoning from riboflavin.
 Vitamin B6 (peridoxine)

• Vitamin B6 helps the immune system

produce antibodies. (Antibodies are needed to
fight many diseases.)
• Vitamin B6 helps maintain normal nerve
function and form red blood cells.
• The body uses it to help break
down proteins. The more protein you eat,
the more vitamin B6 you need.
Vitamin B12 (Folic Acid/ cyanocobalamin)

• It helps maintain healthy nerve cells and

red blood cells
• needed to make DNA, the genetic material
in all cells.
• Vitamin B12 is bound to the protein in
food. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach
releases B12 from protein during
digestion.
Vitamin B12 (Folic Acid/cyanocobalamin)

• Once released, B12 combines with other

substance before it is absorbed into the
bloodstream.
• Prevent pernicious anaemia especially
during pregnancy.
• Sources
• White fish, shellfish, meat, and dairy products,
vegetable
Vitamin B12 (Folic Acid/ cyanocobalamin)

• Deficiency
• pernicious anaemia - is a form of anaemia
that occurs when red blood cells burst
• ataxia (shaky movements and unsteady
gait), muscle weakness, spasticity,
incontinence, hypotension (low blood
pressure), vision problems, dementia,
psychoses, and mood disturbances.
 Vitamin C (ascorbic Acid)

• required for the growth and repair of

tissues in all parts of your body.
• necessary to form collagen, an important
protein used to make skin, scar tissue,
tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels.
• Vitamin C is essential for the healing of
wounds, and for the repair and
maintenance of cartilage, bones, and
teeth.
 Vitamin C (ascorbic Acid)

• Sources
• All fruits and vegetables contain some amount
of vitamin C especially citrus fruits.
• Green peppers, citrus fruits and juices,
strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip
greens and other leafy greens, sweet and
white potatoes, and cantaloupe, papaya,
mango, watermelon, brussels sprouts,
cauliflower, cabbage, winter squash, red
peppers, raspberries, blueberries,
cranberries, and pineapples.
 Vitamin C (ascorbic Acid)

• A severe form of vitamin C deficiency is

known as scurvy, characterized by general
weakness, anemia, gum disease
(gingivitis) – bleeding gums, and skin
hemorrhages.
Scurvy
 MINERALS
•Essential
•Inorganic, micronutrient
•Not energy-yielding
•Indestructible
Examples:
Mineral requirement in animals
 Iodine Deficiency

Goiter Cretinism
 What is dietary fiber?
• Dietary fiber, also known as roughage or bulk,
includes the parts of plant foods your body
can't digest or absorb.

• Unlike other food components, such as fats,

proteins or carbohydrates — which your body
breaks down and absorbs — fiber isn't digested
by your body.

• Instead, it passes relatively intact through your

stomach, small intestine and colon and out of
your body.
 Fiber is commonly classified as soluble,
which dissolves in water, or insoluble,
which doesn't dissolve.
Constipation
 Constipation is common and it affects people of
all ages.

 It can usually treat it at home with simple

changes to your diet and lifestyle.
• It's likely to be constipation if:
• you have not had a defecate at least 3
times during the last week

• the defecate is often large and dry, hard

or lumpy

• you are straining or in pain when you have

a defecate
 What causes constipation

• Constipation in adults has many possible

causes.

• Sometimes there's no obvious reason.

• The most common causes include:
• not eating enough fibre – such as fruit,
vegetables and cereals
• not drinking enough fluids
• not moving enough and spending long periods
sitting or lying in bed
• being less active and not exercising
• often ignoring the urge to go to the toilet
• changing your diet or daily routine
• a side effect of medicine
• stress, anxiety or depression
• Constipation is also common during
pregnancy and for 6 weeks after giving
birth.

• Rarely, constipation may be caused by a

medical condition.
 All organisms require organic
compounds for their living
processes.

 Green plants manufacture organic

compounds from raw materials, but
animals must be supplied with
organic compounds in the form of
food.
 Nutrition is the process of obtaining
or making food.

 Living organisms require food for

growth, to provide energy and to
maintain health.
 The classes of food substances are:
 carbohydrates
 fats and oils
 proteins
 minerals
 vitamins
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
 Lipids

• Fats are needed in the body as:

• A solvent for fat soluble vitamin A,D,E,K
• Insulation when deposited under the skin
• Protection for vital internal organs and bones
• Secondary source of energy
 Lipids

• Saturated fats have a single bond

between the carbon atoms.
• They are a dietary cause of high blood
cholesterol.
• Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from
animals and some plants.
 Lipids
• Unsaturated fats have a double bond
between their carbon atoms.
• Found mainly in many fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants,
salmon, herring, avocados, olives and liquid vegetable oils such
as soybean, corn.
• monounsaturated fats contains one double bond.
• polyunsaturated fats contains more than one double bonds.
 Proteins are needed:

• For making new tissue, in order to grow

and repair damaged tissue.

• For making enzymes (enzymes are

proteins), which are necessary for
reactions to occur quickly.

• For making hormones (hormones are

proteins), which control the activities of
organisms.
Proteins
 Protein deficiency
• Kawashiorkor
• Symptoms:
• apathy (an absence of emotion or enthusiasm),
• muscular wasting,
• edema (edema is the accumulation of fluid in any
given location in the body).
• hair and the skin lose their pigmentation. The skin
becomes scaly
• diarrhoea and anaemia,
• permanent blindness can result from this condition.
Carbohydrates

 Carbohydrates provide energy.

 They may be simple sugars (glucose,

fructose); complex sugars maltose,
sucrose); or polysaccharides
(starch, cellulose, glycogen).
 Fats and oils also provide energy.

 They are usually stored as food reserves.

 Animals store fats while plants store oils.

 Proteins are required for growth as well

as for the repair of damaged or worn out
tissues.
 Vitamins and minerals are essential for
the maintenance of good health.

 They control metabolism and prevent

diseases.

 Chemical tests have been developed to

detect different food substances.
 The important tests are:
 The iodine test for starch
 The Benedict's test for reducing
sugar e.g. glucose, maltose
 The Biuret test for protein
 The emulsion test and the grease
spot test for fats
 These tests are fully described in any standard
textbook. However, the following should be
noted:
 Heat is required only for the Benedict's test
for reducing and non-reducing sugars.
Reducing sugars are so called because they
reduce the copper sulphate in Benedict's
solution to a reddish precipitate.
 Simple sugars are reducing sugars,
but some complex sugars, e.g.
maltose, are also reducing sugars.
Sucrose, a complex sugar, is a non-
reducing sugar.
 There is no direct test for non-
reducing sugars.

 A non-reducing sugar can be broken

down to simple sugars by heating it
with a dilute acid like hydrochloric
acid (hydrolysis).
 The resulting mixture is acidic and must first be
neutralized by the addition of a small amount
of alkali such as solid sodium hydrogen
carbonate.

 The test for reducing sugar can then be carried

out.

 The red precipitate obtained confirms that a

non-reducing sugar was originally present.
TABLE 1 SUMMARY OF THE METHODS AND
RESULTS OF FOOD TESTS
FOOD SUBSTANCE METHOD OBSERVATIONS FOR
POSITIVE RESULTS
Starch Add 2-3 drops of iodine Blue - black
Reducing sugar Add Benedict's and heat to boiling Blue - green, yellow,
orange red precipitate
Non-reducing i) Add Benedict's and heat Remains blue
sugar ii) Add (to fresh solution) dilute Blue - green, yellow,
hydrochloric acid and heat. Add solid orange red precipitate
sodium hydrogen carbonate until
fizzing stops.
iii) Add Benedict's solution and hear
Protein Purple or violet
Add sodium hydroxide solution. Add
3-4 drops 1% copper sulphate
solution.
Fat or oil Grease spot
Test 1 . Rub or place a drop on (translucent) White
absorbent paper emulsion
Test 2. i) Add alcohol and shake ii)
Pour clean liquid into water
Dehydration

 Large biological molecules often assemble

via dehydration synthesis reactions, in which one
monomer forms a covalent bond to another monomer
(or growing chain of monomers), releasing a water
molecule in the process.
Hydrolysis
 Polymers are broken down into monomers via
hydrolysis reactions, in which a bond is
broken, or lysed, by addition of a water
molecule.

 During a hydrolysis reaction, a molecule

composed of multiple subunits is split in two:
one of the new molecules gains a hydrogen
atom, while the other gains a hydroxyl (-OH)
group, both of which are donated by water.
 This is the reverse of a dehydration
synthesis reaction, and it releases a
monomer that can be used in building a
new polymer.

 For example, in the hydrolysis reaction

below, a water molecule splits maltose to
release two glucose monomers.
 As many as 1000 different reactions
occur in a single cell which is only about
20 µm (1 µm = 10-6 m) in diameter.

 These cell reactions take place without

confusion because they are controlled
by substances, called enzymes, which
are specific for each reaction.
 Enzymes are organic catalysts
produced by living cells.

 They generally speed up chemical

reactions in organisms.

 If enzymes were not present these

reactions would take place too slowly
to sustain life.
Properties of Enzymes
 All enzymes are large protein
molecules with specific shapes.

 The substances they act on are

called their substrates.
 Thus in the reaction;
A = B+C
substrate products
 A is the substrate on which the
enzyme acts and B and C are the
products of the reaction which the
enzyme catalyzed

 Enzymes are not destroyed during

the reactions that they catalyse.
 This means that each enzyme
molecule can be used repeatedly;
only a small amount of enzyme is
needed to catalyse a large amount
of substrate.
Specificity
 Each enzyme catalyses a specific
reaction e.g. salivary amylase will
act only on starch.

 Enzyme molecules combine with

substrate molecules causing them
to react more quickly.

 Because of their specific shapes

they can combine only with their
specific substrate molecules.
Sensitivity to temperature
 Enzymes are proteins and so they
are denatured by excessive heat.

 Most enzymes act best in the

temperature range 35-45° C.

 They are inactive or work very

slowly at low temperatures.
 The rate of an enzyme controlled
reaction increases with
temperature until die optimum
temperature is reached.

 This is the temperature at which

the particular enzyme works best
above this temperature the reaction
soon stops as the enzyme molecules
lose their shapes and can no longer
their specific substrate.
Sensitivity to pH
 Each enzyme works best within a
narrow pH range.

 Excessive heat, acids and alkalis

can change the structure of
proteins.

 Some enzymes work well in acid

surroundings, e.g. pepsin works at a
very low pH in the stomach.
 Other enzymes work best in alkaline
surroundings e.g. pancreatic lipase
some in neutral media e.g. salivary
amylase.
 TABLE 1 SOME COMMON ENZYMES
AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

ENZYMES WHERE FUNCTION

PRODUCED
Salivary amylase Salivary glands Digestion of starch to maltose
in the mouth
Pepsin Stomach wall Digestion of proteins to
polypeptides in the stomach
Pancreatic Pancreas Digestion of fats to fatty acids
lipase and glycerol in the small
intestine
Catalase Most tissues Breaks down toxic hydrogen
peroxide to water and oxygen
 Most of the enzymes covered at this
level are digestive enzymes which
catalyze the splitting of molecules
by a process called hydrolysis.

 During hydrolysis a molecule of

water is added to substrate causing
it to break into two parts.
 There are hundreds of other
enzymes in cells.

 Among the most important are the

many respiratory enzymes which
control the release of energy in
cells.

 Enzymes also catalyse the "dark”

reactions of photosynthesis.
Organ Digestive Gland pH Enzyme Substrate Products
juice
Mouth Saliva Salivary 7 Salivary Starch Maltose
gland amylase
Stomach Gastric Gastric pits 2-3 Pepsin Protein Polypeptides
juice Renin Milk Sugar +
Protein
Duodenum Pancreatic Pancreas 7-8 Amylase Starch Maltose
juice Trypsin Polypeptides Peptides
Lipase Lipid Fatty acids
and glycerol

Ileum Intestinal Intestinal 9 Maltase Maltose 2 Glucose

juice wall Sucrase Sucrose Glucose +
Fructose
Lactase Lactose Glucose +
galactose
Peptidase Peptides Amino acids

Lipase Lipids Fatty acids

and glycerol
Worksheets

 https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1ltQVNyh
wVFe1o-Il_lMO0q6rKC0NBkSb
The role of the teeth

 Teeth are found embedded in the

upper and lower jaws within the
buccal cavity.

 They cut and grind food into smaller

pieces before it is swallowed.

 This grinding is called mastication.

 Prolonged chewing of the food
ensures that a larger surface area is
exposed for the activity of the
enzymes.
 There are four main types of teeth:
 Incisorsare found at the front of the
buccal cavity.
 They are shaped like chisels and are used
for anting and biting food.
 Canines are next to the incisors.
 They are pointed and can be used for
tearing food.
 Premolars are behind the canines.
 Molars are behind the premolars.
 Bothpremolars and molars have
broad surfaces with ridges and
bumps.
 Theyare used for grinding and
crushing food into smaller pieces.
 Tooth Structure
 An extracted tooth is seen to consist of a
crown and a root.

 The crown is visible above the gum when

the mouth is open.

 The root is buried in the jaw bone.

 The incisors and canines have one root.

 The premolars and molars may have two
or three roots.

 Fig. 2 shows the internal structure of a

tooth if it is sawn longitudinally.

 The outer layer of the crown is a thin

layer of extremely hard enamel.
 Within this is a hard bone-like dentine which
contains living tissue, unlike the enamel.

 In the centre of the tooth is the pulp cavity

containing blood vessels and nerves.

 Tiny channels containing living cells run from

the pulp cavity into the dentine.
 Outside the root of the tooth is a
bone-like cement which fixes it into
the socket of the jaw.

 Tough fibres which run into the jaw

bone are attached to the cement.
 These fibres make up a periodontal
membrane which allows the tooth
to move slightly, allowing us to bite
hard material without breaking the
tooth.
The Mouth, Pharynx,
Oesophagus and Stomach
 The entrance to the alimentary canal is
the mouth, which opens into the oral or
buccal cavity.

 Salivary glands have ducts which also

open into the buccal cavity.

 At the back of this cavity is the pharynx.

 Connected to the pharynx is the
oesophagus.

 This is a straight tube which passes

through the thorax to the stomach.

 The stomach is a J-shaped sac lying

under the diaphragm in the abdomen.
 A ring muscles called the pyloric
sphincter separates the stomach
from the small intestine.
The Small Intestine
 The first part of the small intestine is a curved
tube, the duodenum.

 A duct, formed from the joining of a bile duct

from the liver and a pancreatic duct from the
pancreas, enters the duodenum.

 The rest of the small intestine is made up of the

longer ileum, which forms a series of loops in the
abdomen.

 In humans, the intestine is about 7 meters long.

The Large Intestine and Rectum
 The next section of the alimentary canal
is the large intestine.

 At its junction with the small intestine is

a blind sac called the caecum on which
the narrow appendix is an outpocketing.

 The large intestine a divided into the

colon and the rectum.
 The colon is a wider tube than the small
intestine.

 From the caecum, the colon ascends on the

right of the abdomen.

 It crosses the abdomen and descends on the

left side of the abdomen, ending in a short
tube in the mid-line region, the rectum.
 The rectum opens to the exterior
through the anus which is
surrounded by a circle of muscle
called the anal sphincter.
Ingestion, Digestion and Egestion
 Animals take in the complex food
substances, carbohydrates, fats and
proteins, through their mouths.

 This process if intake is called ingestion.

 These foods must be broken down into

simple soluble] substances so that they can
be absorbed and transported by the blood.
 This process whereby food is broken down
from complex insoluble food into simple
soluble substances is called digestion.

 Two types of digestion occur; mechanical

digestion and chemical digestion.

 Mechanical digestion is the breaking up

of large pieces of food into smaller and
smaller pieces.
 This is done in the buccal cavity by the teeth
and in the stomach by the churning of the
stomach wall.

 Chemical digestion is the breaking down of

complex insoluble chemical molecules into
simpler soluble ones.

 This begins in the buccal cavity and is continued

in the oesophagus, the stomach, the duodenum
and the ileum.

 Enzymes catalyze or speed up the rate of this

chemical breakdown.
 The soluble end products of
digestion, namely, simple sugars,
amino acids, fatty acids and
glycerol, are absorbed in the small
intestine and are transported by
blood or the lymphatic system for
assimilation by the body.
 Any undigested food is eliminated
from the end of the alimentary
canal as faeces.

 This process is called egestion.

 Muscular activity of the gut
- peristalsis
 Food taken in through the mouth into the
buccal cavity is masticated by the teeth
and then swallowed.

 During swallowing, the tongue forces the

bolus of food to the back of the mouth.

 The opening between the nasal cavity and

the pharynx is closed by the soft palate.
 Lower down a flap called the epiglottis
closes over the larynx so that food can be
directed over the trachea or windpipe
without entering it.

 The food is forced down the oesophagus by

a process called peristalsis.

 This process of peristalsis moves food along

the entire alimentary canal.
 The wall of the canal contains layers of
circular and longitudinal muscles.

 The circular muscles contract, behind

the bolus of food to push it along the
gut.

 As the circular muscles contract the

longitudinal muscle relax.
 These muscles contract and relax alternately
in waves which push the food in a wave-like
motion through the canal.

 The food is churned in the stomach by the

muscular activity of the stomach walls for
approximately three hours.

 The food leaves the stomach in a semi-liquid

state, called chyme.
Chemical digestion
Buccal Cavity

 As the food is being chewed

(masticated) by the teeth in the
buccal cavity it is softened by the
secretions from three pairs of
salivary glands which pour their
contents through ducts into the
buccal cavity.
 This secretion, saliva, is a watery,
slightly alkaline to neutral liquid
which contains the enzyme, salivary
amylase, and mucus.

 Amylase begins the digestion of

starch converting it to maltose.
 This digestion of starch continues in
the bolus of food as it passes down
the oesophagus.

 Mucus is a sticky fluid which helps

to soften and lubricate the food.
Stomach
 The lining of the stomach secretes
gastric juice which contains the
enzymes pepsinogen and
hydrochloric acid.

 Pepsinogen is activated to pepsin by

the hydrochloric acid.

 Pepsin begins the digestion of

protein into polypeptides.
 Renin, if present, clots milk
protein.

 Hydrochloric acid provides the

optimum pH for the activity of
pepsin.

 The acid also kills bacteria.

 The food us thoroughly mixed by
the action of the stomach muscles.

 It is mixed with the gastric juice

which also contains mucus for
lubrication.
 The mucus secreted here and in all
other areas of the gut, prevents the
digestive juices from digesting the
cells of the alimentary canal itself.

 The fluid chyme which results, is

released in small amounts through
the pyloric sphincter as it contracts
and relaxes.
 Duodenum
 The duodenum receives pancreatic juice
from the pancreas and bile produced by
the liver.

 Bile is an alkaline watery, liquid

secreted from the liver through the bile
duct.

 It is stored temporarily in the gall

bladder, (Its colour is due to the
products from the breakdown of old red
cells).
 Bile contains no enzymes, but salts
which emulsify fats, that is, these salts
reduce the surface tension of fats
breaking them up into small globules.

 The increased surface area allows for

faster digestion by the pancreatic
lipase.
 Pancreatic juice is produced in the
pancreas which lies in the duodenal
loop.

 The juice travels along a duct, the

pancreatic duct. It contains many
enzymes.
 Pancreatic amylase continues the digestion
of starch to maltose; trypsin breaks down
protein into polypeptides and polypeptides
into amino acids; and lipase splits fat
molecules into fatty acids and glycerol.

 Pancreatic juice and bile are alkaline and

therefore neutralize the acid chyme from
the stomach and create the optimal pH for
these enzymes.
Ileum
 The wall of the small intestines
secrete intestinal juice.

 The juice contains enzymes which

break down the remaining partially
digested food into soluble products.

 Polypeptides are broken down into

amino acids by peptidases.
 Maltase converts maltose to
glucose; sucrase converts sucrose to
glucose and fructose, and lactase
converts lactose to glucose and
galactose.

 Lipase converts fats to fatty acids

and glycerol.
Absorption in the Ileum
 The soluble products of digestion
such as glucose and fructose, amino
acids and fatty acids and glycerol,
are absorbed through the lining of
the ileum.

 The fat products enter the lacteals

and the sugars and amino acids
enter the blood capillaries.
 The wall of the small intestine is well
adapted for this absorption:
1 . It consists of millions of finger
like projections about 1 mm long
called villi (singular - villus). These
greatly increase the internal surface
area for absorption;
 2. Each epithelial cell membrane has
very minute projections called
microvilli which further increase the
surface area of the cell for
absorption;
 3.
Within each villus is a dense
network of blood capillaries for taking
up the absorbed food;

 4.The epithelial lining is very thin

(only one cell thick) allowing the
soluble material to pass through
rapidly;

 5.The ileum is very long and therefore

offers more absorption surface than a
short structure would.
 Absorption takes place both by diffusion
and active transport.

 The absorption process is at first one of

diffusion.

 When the concentration of the soluble

substances build up in the blood beyond
that of the gut, movement is by active
transport using the energy released by the
intestinal cells.
Assimilation of absorbed
digestive products
 The amino acids and soluble sugars
diffuse into the blood capillaries
and are transported to tributaries
which join the hepatic portal vein.

 This transports blood from the small

intestine to the liver which
regulates the amount of soluble
food which enters the general
circulation.
 Some glucose is distributed around
the body and used during
respiration.

 Excess glucose is stored in the liver

or in muscle as glycogen, or as fat
around some organs.

 Glycogen is reconverted to glucose,

whenever the body requires it.
 The glucose is transported by blood
to the tissues which need it.

 Ammo acids are used to build cell

protoplasm and to repair damaged
tissues.
 They are also used to form enzymes
and the proteins in the blood such
as fibrinogen.

 Excess amino acids will be toxic if

stored.

 They are deaminated in the liver.

 This means that their amino groups
are removed and converted to urea
which is transported by blood to the
kidneys and excreted in urine.

 The rest of the molecule can be

converted to carbohydrate for use
or storage.
 After absorption most of the fatty acids and
glycerol recombine to form fats which enters
the lacteals of the lymphatic system.

 Eventually the fat enters the blood stream and

is used for cell membrane formation.

 Excess is stored around organs such as the

heart, kidneys and under the skin as an energy
reserve.
The large intestine

 The material passing into the large

intestine consists of undigested material,
mainly cellulose and roughage, water and
mucus.

 Much of the water and salts is absorbed

from the colon leaving a semi-solid mass
which passes into the rectum.
 There it is stored as faeces until it
is expelled through the anus.