Digestion and absorption of

carbohydrates

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Digestion of Carbohydrates
1. Begins in the mouth with the action of -amylase
contained in salivary secretions
- -amylase - catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch; highly
specific
- Action of salivary amylase continues until the food in the
stomach is mixed with gastric acid, which inactivates the
enzyme
- Principal products:
(1) Maltose
(2) Maltotriose
(3) Malto-oligosaccharides
(4) Isomaltose (-dextrins)

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Digestion of Carbohydrates
2. Digestion in the small intestine by pancreatic -
amylase
- site where most of the digestion of starch occurs
- Pancreatic -amylase - most concentrated in the
duodenum, produces the same products as salivary
amylase, however, total activity is greater

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Digestion of Carbohydrates
3. Enzymatic breakdown in brush border membrane of the
epithelium (duodenum & jejunum)

Major brush border hydrolases (produced by apical cells in the

brush border)*
• Lactase -splits lactose into glucose and galactose
• Sucrase -splits sucrose into glucose and fructose
• Isomaltase -debranches alpha-limit dextrins
• Maltase-glucoamylase -breaks maltooligosaccharides into
glucose units

*enzymes that are tethered in the lumenal plasma membrane of absorptive enterocytes; facilitate
the final enzymatic digestion that liberates monosaccharides
Absorption of Carbohydrates
• The duodenum and the upper jejunum has the highest
capacity to absorb sugars; progressively less in the lower
jejunum and ileum
• Monosaccharides that are well-absorbed:
(1) Glucose
(2) Galactose
(3) Fructose
 Absorption of Monosaccharides
Brush border Na+ Basolateral
Glucose and
membrane membrane
ATPare
galactose
taken into the
Na+ enterocyte byK+
Glucose or SGLUT1 cotransport with
sodium using the Glucose
Galactose
same transporter Galactose GLUT2
(secondary active Fructose
transport)
Fructose GLUT5
Glucose, galactose and
fructose are transported
out of the enterocyte
Fructose is not co- through GLUT-2 in the
transported with Enterocyte basolateral membrane
sodium; has its own
hexose transporter
 Fate of absorbed monosaccharides
• Monosaccharides are released
from the enterocyte on the
basolateral side
• Glucose, galactose and fructose
are transported out of the
enterocyte through another
hexose transporter (called
GLUT-2) in the basolateral
membrane.
• Taken up by blood vessels in villi
• Transported to liver via the
hepatic portal vein

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Digestion of CHO in the large intestine

• Products entering LI include:

- Non-starch polysaccharides
- Starch that escaped digestion in the SI
- Non-digestible oligosaccharides

Principles of Animal Nutrition

 Digestion in LI
• No enzymes secreted by LI
• No absorption of monosaccharides
• Microbial enzymes can digest CHO containing β–1,4
bonds
• Major end products: Volatile fatty acids
- Acetic (2C), Propionic (3C), Butyric (4C) acid
• VFA can be absorbed in LI
- via simple diffusion; used for energy

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Microbial fermentation
Bacterial enzymes

Soluble or
insoluble CHO Monosaccharides

Bacterial
metabolism

VFA + Gasses
+ H20

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP)

• Part of dietary fiber (NSP = TDF minus lignin)

• Structural elements in plants
• Can be homo- or hetero-polysaccharides
• Low feeding value for non-ruminants
• No digestion of NSP in the small intestine – lack of
cellulase
• NSP is passed on to the large intestine

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Types of NSP by location
Cellulose
Arabinoxylans
Arabinogalactans
Cell Wall NSP Xyloglucans
Galactans
Mixed β-glucans
Fructans
Non-starch
Non-Cell Wall Mannans
polysaccharides
NSP Pectins

Galactomannans

Part of total In-accessible

dietary fiber but Resistant starch Native
technically not NSP Retrograded
Principles of Animal Nutrition
Resistant Starch
• Physically inaccessible starch - starch entrapped in
protein matrix, cell-wall materials, and other physical
barriers that reduce the accessibility of starch
• Portion of starch that cannot be hydrolyzed by enzymes
in the SI and is passed into the LI for fermentation by
gut microflora
• Potential benefit of resistant starch→ promotes growth
of beneficial microorganisms

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Types of NSP based on water solubility
Dietary NSP

Soluble NSP Insoluble NSP

Some Pectin Gum Mucilages Cellulose Some

hemicellulose hemicellulose

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Types of NSP based on water solubility
Dietary NSP
Have high
water holding
and binding
capacity
Soluble NSP Insoluble NSP

Some Pectin Gum Mucilages Cellulose Some

hemicellulose hemicellulose

Delay gastric emptying  intestinal transit time

 intestinal transit time (increased passage rate)
 nutrient absorption  fecal volume
Principles of Animal Nutrition
How does soluble NSP affect nutrient
digestibility?
Brush border of small intestine
Unstirred water layer

H2O Digestive
enzymes H2O
H2O
Digestive
enzymes H2O Digestive
enzymes
Unstirred water layer
Brush border of small intestine
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What are the effects of NSP?

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO)
• Low MW carbohydrates of intermediate in nature
between simple sugars and polysaccharides
• Can be obtained by direct extraction from natural
sources, or produced by chemical processes
hydrolyzing polysaccharides, or by enzymatic and
chemical synthesis from disaccharides
• Natural part of feed ingredients

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO)
• Are not enzymatically digested
• Can be linear or branched
• Have no feeding value
• Are used as functional ingredients in feed and food
• Industrial applications as component of prebiotic
formulations and in symbiotic products (containing
probiotic organism and prebiotic oligosaccharide).
• Mannanoligosaccharides, Fructo-oligosaccharides,
α-Galacto-oligosaccharides

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Carbohydrate Digestion in
Ruminants

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Microbial Carbohydrate Digestion

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Microbial Carbohydrate Digestion

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Microbial Carbohydrate Digestion

Volatile Fatty Acids

Principles of Animal Nutrition

Post-Ruminal Digestion
• Major route of CHO digestion is through ruminal
fermentation and subsequent ruminal absorption
of VFA
• Post-ruminal digestion and absorption is the route
by which rumen-escape α-linked CHO become
available to the host animal

Principles of Animal Nutrition

 Digestion in the SI and LI
• Small intestine:
oPancreatic α-amylase and brush border
disaccharidases are present to degrade rumen-escape
α-linked CHO (just like monogastrics)

• Large intestine:
oMicrobial population in the cecum promotes
fermentation similar to the rumen

Principles of Animal Nutrition