How do carbohydrates, proteins and fats get digested in human beings?
Ans.
Digestion of carbohydrates:
Oral cavity: Starch is broken down into maltose by salivary amylase present in the saliva.
Small intestine:
Remaining starch is broken down into maltose by pancreatic amylase present in the pancreatic juice
Maltose is broken down into glucose units by Maltase of intestinal juice.
Digestion of Proteins:
Proteins digestion does not start in oral cavity as mouth does not have any digesting enzyme for proteins.
Stomach: Stomach secretes pepsin which is a protein digesting enzyme. In its inactive form, pepsin is called as pepsinogen.
Upon exposure to HCl, pepsinogen gets converted to active pepsin.
Pepsin starts protein digestion into small peptides.
Small intestine:
Trypsin and chymotrypsin digest proteins into peptides. Pancreatic juice secretes Trypsinogen, chymotripsinogen (inactive from of trypsin).
Peptidases of intestinal juice digest the peptides into amino acids.
Digestion of Fats:
Small intestine:
Emulsification of large globules of fats into smaller droplets by bile salt.
Pancreatic lipase digests the emulsified fat globules into glycerol and fatty acids.
Glycerol and fatty acids enter the villi cells where they are rejoined and packaged as lipoprotein droplets before entering the lacteals.