Digestive system Flashcards
what is digestion
process of mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into molecular subunits small enough to be absorbed into body fluids and cells (nutrients)
what is chemical and mechanical breakdown of food
-mechanical: chewing
-chemical: enzymes and acids being mixed with food
nutrients
substances essential for growth and maintaining life
what are the main functions of the digestive system
-breakdown food into smaller molecules that can cross plasma membranes
-food storage
-absorption of nutrients
-elimination of undigested food (feces)
macro-nutrients
requires in large amounts (carbohydrates, fat, protein, macro elements)
micro-nutrients
required in small amounts (vitamins, trace elements)
essential nutrients
animals cannot synthesize themselves and must be acquired from food (essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals)
essential amino acids in humans
-9 (number varies depending on species)
-lysine, histidine, tryptophan, phenylamine, threonine, valine, methionine, leucine, isoleucine
essential fatty acids in humans
-2
-linoleic acid (omega-6)
-linolenic acid (omega-3)
how many essential vitamins in humans
-13
-humans can synthesize vitiman D from sunlight
what are the fat soluble essential vitamans in humans
-A (retional)
-D (dalciferol)
-E (tocopherol)
-K (napthoquinone)
what are the water soluble essential vitamans in humans
-B1 (thiamine)
-B2 (riboflavin)
-niacin
-B6 (pyridoxine)
-pantothenic acid
-folic acid
-B12 (cobalamin)
-biotin
-C (ascorbic acid)
what are the macronutrients for humans
-calcium
-chlorine
-chromium
-cobalt
-fluorine
-iodine
-iron
-magnesium
-manganese
-mollybdenum
-nitrogen
what are the essential micronutrients for humans
copper
some monosaccharides
-glucose, fructose, galactose
-a few of which are normally found in most diets
-absorbable units
some disaccharides
-sucrose (glucose and one fructose)
-trehalose (two glucose molecs in opposite orentations)
-maltose (two glucose molecs in the some orientation)
-lactose (milk sugar; glucose and one galactose)
some polysaccharides
-chains of interconnected monosaccharides
-most common carbohydrate of animal diets
-starch from plants and glycogen form animals
-both have alpha bonds between the glucose units
cellulose
-beta bonds
-most abundant organic molec in the biosphere
-major component of plant material, comprising over half of the plant cell wall
-to be usable must be hydrolyzed into monosaccarides
-we cant break this down because our enzyme cant break down beta bonds
how is glycogen made up
-formed form glucose units joined in chains by alpha(1-4) linkages
-side branches are linked to the chains by alpha (1-6) linkages
how is cellulose made up
-formed form glucose units joined ends by beta (1-4) linkags
-hundreds to thousands of cellulose chains line up side by side in an arrangement reinforced by hydrogen bonds between the chains, to form cellulose microfibrils in plant cells
what are proteins
consists of various combinations of amino acids (absorbable units) held together by peptide bonds
what are most dietary lipids
bulk of dietary lipid is triglyceride, but also contains phospholipids, cholesterol, fat soluble vitimans
what are triglycerides
glycerol+fatty acids (which is the absorbable units)
how do fats pass through the the gut
after being broken down they pass through simple diffusion