Topic: Heterotrophic

Nutrition

Subtopic: Digestion
4th form Bio. Opt. A
Teacher: Ms. Nathesha Allwood
 ● There are two types of digestion:
● Physical/Mechanical digestion which is the breaking
down of large pieces of food into small pieces. This
type of digestion is carried out by the teeth.
Definition ● It allows the increase in the surface area of the food
of for the enzyme to easily speed up the break down of
the food.
Digestion ● Chemical digestion which is the breaking down of
large, complex food molecules into small, simple
molecules by hydrolysis reactions.
● The hydrolysis reactions are catalyzed by enzymes.
 ●Digestion takes place in the digestive system/
the alimentary canal.
●The alimentary canal is a long tube that
Where does starts from the mouth and ends at the anus.
digestion take ●The tube is modified at different regions to
place? based on its function.
●Enzymes are located at different regions of
the alimentary canal to catalyze the break
down of food molecules.
The Internal
Structure of a
Molar Tooth
 Label the
parts of the
Tooth
Functions of
the parts of
the Tooth
Functions
Cont’d
 Types of
Teeth in
the
Mouth
The different types of teeth
in the mouth
masticates/chews food to
carry out physical
digestion.
The
Alimentary
Canal
Functions of
the parts of
the
Alimentary
Canal
 ● Gall bladder- stores bile
● Bile duct- Transports bile from the gall bladder to the
duodenum.
● Pancreatic duct- Transports pancreatic juice from the pancreas
Functions to the duodenum.
Cont’d ● Sphincter muscle- contracts and relaxes to allow food molecules
to move from one region to the next in the alimentary canal.
● Epiglottis- a flap of skin that prevents food from entering the
trachea during swallowing. It allows food to enter down the
gullet/oesophagus.
 ● The Mouth
● Starch is broken down in the mouth to maltose, but not all the
starch is broken down because the food does not stay long
The Digestion enough in the mouth to break down all the starch.
● The enzyme that acts on starch in the mouth is salivary
Process amylase.
● The enzyme work best in a neutral to slightly alkaline pH which
is the condition in the mouth.
The Mouth
● The food is rolled into a ball by the tongue called a bolus.
(ingestion) ● The food is also moistened by saliva.
● The teeth chew/masticate the food into small pieces for it to be
rolled into a bolus and swallowed.
 ● The oesophagus allows the bolus to move down to the stomach by
the muscular/wave-like movement of its walls. This action is
known as peristalsis.
● When the bolus reaches the stomach the enzyme salivary amylase
The Digestion becomes denatured because the stomach has an acidic pH
condition. This stops the break down of starch.
Process
● Protein starts to break down in the stomach which is catalyzed by
the enzymes pepsin and rennin.
Oesophagus ● Pepsin catalyzes the break down of protein to polypeptides.

& ● Rennin catalyzes the break down of milk protein to clotted milk.
● Hydrochloric acid in the stomach not only creates the acidic pH
Stomach condition but also kills any bacteria that are in the food.
● Physical digestion also occurs in the stomach as the food is
 ● churned by the muscular walls of the stomach that contract and
relax. The food is churned into a liquid called chyme.
● Chyme then flows into the duodenum along with bile and
pancreatic juice.

The Digestion ● In the duodenum, sodium hydrogen carbonate in the pancreatic

juice neutralizes the acid from the stomach and make the pH
Process condition in the duodenum alkaline.
● The partially broken down starch from the mouth continues to
break down in the duodenum as the enzyme pancreatic amylase
Duodenum catalyzes the break down of the starch to maltose.
● The polypeptides from the stomach are further broken down to
shorter polypeptide chains by the enzyme trypsin.
● The bile emulsifies/splits fats into fat droplets and the fat
droplets are acted upon by the enzyme lipase.
 ● Lipase catalyzes the break down of fats to glycerol and fatty
acids.
● The enzymes, pancreatic amylase, trypsin and lipase are in the
pancreatic juice.
● In the ileum the digestion process is completed by the
The Digestion formation of the end products of digestion.
● The intestinal juice in the ileum contains the enzymes maltase,
Process peptidase and lipase.
● Maltase acts on maltose breaking it down to glucose.
Ileum ● Peptidase acts on the shorter polypeptide chains breaking
them down to amino acids.
● Lipase acts on remaining fat droplets breaking them down to
glycerol and fatty acids.
● The pH condition in the ileum is alkaline.
 ● After the completion of digestion and the simplest form of
nutrients are formed which are glucose, amino acids and fatty
acids and glycerol.
Absorption in ● These end products pass through the walls of the ileum into the
the Ileum bloodstream which is known as absorption.
● The ileum is structurally adapted for absorption of the digested
nutrients.
 Structural
Adaptation
of the Ileum
for
Absorption
 ● After the digested nutrients or the end-products of digestion
have been absorbed through the ileum and into the
bloodstream.
● The undigested food that cannot be absorbed travels on into the
Large colon.

Intestine ● In the colon, water and salt are absorbed from the undigested
food.
● Faeces is formed in the colon which consists of:
- Colon ● Roughage
● Bacteria
- Rectum ● Some dead cells from the inside of the alimentary canal.
(egestion) ● Faeces is transported to the rectum where it is stored
temporarily.
● Pressure is applied to the sphincter muscle below the rectum
which allows the release of the faeces through the anus.
 ● Assimilation is the use of the end-products of digestion or
digested foods being used up by the body to carry out different
functions.
● After absorption, the digested food is transported to liver in the
bloodstream in the hepatic portal vein.
● The liver processes some of the food by:
Assimilation ● Further breaking down some of the food
● Converting some of the food into other substances
● Storing some of the food.
● The rest travels in the bloodstream to carry out various
functions.
 ● Glucose is used up for respiration in the cells to provide energy.
● Excess glucose are converted to glycogen in the liver which is
stores in the liver and muscle cells.
● Excess glucose are also converted to fat and stored under the
skin and around organs.
Assimilation ● Amino acids are used by cells for growth and repair.

Cont’d ● Amino acids are used to make hormones and enzymes.

● Some excess amino acid undergo deamination which is the
removal of the amino group from the amino acid molecule. This
leaves the carbohydrate part of the molecule.
● This part is converted to glycogen or fat and stored.
 ● Fatty acids and glycerol are transported by the lymph vessels
into the bloodstream.
● Excess fatty acid and glycerol is stored under the skin and
Assimilation around body organs.

Cont’d ● Fatty acid is used to form new membranes in cells and

organelles.
● Fatty acid is used for respiration in instances in which
carbohydrates have been exhausted.
 ● A balanced diet is important as it consists of macro-nutrients
and micro-nutrients in their correct proportions.
● This prevents deficiency diseases that occurs when a nutrient is
lacking and malnutrition that can occur if there is a surplus
Importance intake of one nutrient as well as a lack of nutrients.
of a Balanced ● Age, sex and occupation also affect dietary needs of individuals.
Diet ● Specific diets are necessary for individuals with diabetes and
hypertension.
● For diabetes- less carbohydrate in the diet.
● For hypertension- less sodium/salt in the diet.
 Alimentary Food pH Enzymes Products Juice/
Canal Substance condition Present Formed Substance
Produced

LESSON Mouth

ACTIVITY Oesophagus

Complete the Stomach

table Duodenum

Ileum
 ● Answer the following questions:
● What is a sphincter muscle?
● Name two places in the alimentary canal where sphincter
muscles are found.
● Name two parts of the alimentary canal where amylase is
secreted.
LESSON ● What is the epiglottis?
ACTIVITY ● Why do the walls of the stomach secrete hydrochloric acid?
CONT’D ● Which three parts of the alimentary canal make up the small
intestine?
● Which two digestive juices are secreted into the duodenum?
● In which part of the alimentary canal does absorption takes
place?
 ● Describe three ways in which this part of the canal is adapted
for food absorption.
● In which part of the alimentary canal is water absorbed?
● What do faeces contain?

Questions ● What is ingestion?

● What is egestion?
Cont’d
● What are the end-products of digestion?
● What is mastication?
● What is the role of the tongue in mechanical digestion?
● What is peristalsis?