Carbohydrate Digestion

Question 1

Explain carbohydrate digestion

Answer 1

1. Saliva enters the mouth from the salivary glands
2. Food is mixed with the saliva through chewing
3. Saliva also contains mineral salts that helps to maintain the optimum pH for the amylase enzyme
4. Salivary Amylase hydrolyses alternate glycosidic bonds in starch to produce the disaccharide maltose
5. Food enters stomach where amylase enzyme is denatured by acid, preventing further hydrolysis of starch
6. Food enters small intenstines where pancreatic amylase continues hydrolysis of remaining starch into maltose
7. Alkaline salts are present in bile and are released by the walls of small intestine to neutralise the acidic contents from the stomach and maintain a neutral optimum pH for the amylase enzyme
8. Peristalsis moves food along small intestine
9. It encounters 3 different membrane bound disaccharidase enzymes; maltase, sucrase, lactase. They hydrolyse single glycosidic bonds to produce monosaccharides

Question 2

What is peristalsis?

Answer 2

Series of muscle contractions that occur in your digestive tract to move contents along

Question 3

What is the importance of membrane bound enzymes?

Answer 3

Then the products are in the correct place for absorption. They remain in place for a longer period of time