Physiology of Digestion and Absorption

Madara Siriwardana
B.Pharm (FMS/USJP)D.Pharm (UOC),PG HQPS(UOC)
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Overview of the Digestive System
The Digestive System Consists of ;
a) Long hollow muscular tube or canal or tract called
gastrointestinal tract or (GIT):
• it is about 5 meters long
b) Accessory glands: include:
• Salivary glands
• Liver and gall bladder
• Pancreas

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 Main Functions of Digestive Tract
4 major activities of GI tract
1. Motility
• Propel ingested food from mouth toward rectum
2. Secretion of juices e.g. saliva
• Aid in digestion and absorption
3. Digestion
• Food broken down into absorbable molecules
4. Absorption
• Nutrients, electrolytes, and water are absorbed
or transported from lumen of GIT to blood
stream

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1.Motor Functions (Motility) of GIT
1. Motility in the mouth
2 types;
a) Chewing or Mastication:
• It is reflex in nature
Significance:
1. Breaks the food into small pieces to be easily
swallowed
2. Expose food to salivary amylase enzyme, which
begins digestion of starch
3. Help digestion of all types of food especially cellulose
containing food e.g. vegetables

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b) Swallowing:
Deffinition.

✓ Swallowing is the
transport of food from
mouth to stomach
Steps:
• It consists of 3 phases
or steps;

1) Buccal Phase:
food is pushed back into
pharynx from mouth

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b) Swallowing:
2) Pharyngeal Phase: food pass through pharynx to
esophagus

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b) Swallowing:
3) Oesophageal Phase: food pass through esophagus to
stomach by peristaltic movements

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2. Motility of Esophagus
• The esophagus is 25 cm length
tube
• It is guarded by 2 sphincters;
1.Upper esophageal sphincter
prevents air from entering the GIT
2.Lower esophageal sphincter
prevents gastric contents from re-
entering the esophagus from the
stomach
• Esophageal peristalsis sweeps
down the esophagus

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 3. Motility of Stomach
• The stomach consists of fundus, body
and pylorus
• Proximal area (fundus and body) has
a thin wall and contracts weakly and
infrequently → holds large volumes of
food (to store food) because of
receptive relaxation
• Distal area (pylorus) has thick wall with
strong and frequent peristaltic
contractions that mix and propel food
into the duodenum.
• Also, distal area is responsible for
gastric emptying into duodenum

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3. Motility of stomach

Gastric peristalsis
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4. Motility of Small intestine
Types:
• Two basic motility patterns exist
segmentation and peristalsis.
Significance:
• Motility of the small intestine serves 3
functions:
1. Mixing contents with enzymes and
other secretions → help digestion
2. Maximizing exposure of the contents
to membranes of intestinal cells →
help absorption and digestion.
3. Propulsion of contents into the large
intestine.
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 5. Motility of Large intestine or colon
Types:
• Include :
a) Segmentation in the large intestine
causes the contents to be continuously
mixed
b) Mass movement propels the contents
of one segment of the large intestine into
the next downstream segment.
c) Defecation involves involuntary reflexes
and voluntary reflexes → evacuation of
colonic content through anal canal

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Secretory Functions (Secretions)
of GIT

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 Secretions of GIT
✓The total volume of GIT secretions is about
6-8 L/day

✓ Secretions arise from specialized cells lining

the GI tract, the pancreas, liver and
gallbladder.

✓GI secretions function to lubricate (water and

mucus), protect (mucus), sterilize (HCl),
neutralize (HCO3-), and digest (enzymes).

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 Secretions of GIT in Mouth
Salivary Glands
•Three pairs of glands
• Parotid
• Sublingual
• Submandibular
Functions of saliva
1.Lubricates, cleanes oral
cavity
2.Dissolves chemicals
3.Suppresses bacterial
growth
4.Digest starch by amylase
GIT secretions in Stomach

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 Function of Gastric HCL
1. Activates pepsinogen into pepsins
2. Provides optimum for pH for action of pepsins
3. Denatures protein denaturation → help its digestion
4. Kills bacteria in food
5. Help Fe2+、Ca2+ absorption.
6. Promotes pancreatic, small intestinal and bile
secretion

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 Function of pepsins
Function of pepsinogen

protein
HCl
Pepsinogen Pepsin
pH 2-3.5
peptone

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Function of mucous and intrinsic factor
Mucus secretion
✓ Soluble and insoluble mucus are secreted by
cells of the stomach.
✓ Soluble mucus mixes with the contents of the
stomach and helps to lubricate chyme.
✓ Insoluble mucus forms a protective barrier
against the high acidity of the stomach
content.

Intrinsic Factor
✓ Help absorption of vitamin B12 21
Regulation of Gastric Secretion

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 Pancrease

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 Pancreatic Secretion
✓Pancreas has 2 functions:
a) Endocrine functions: secretes insulin and glucagon from islets
of Langerhans
b) Exocrine function: secretion of pancreatic juice
✓It has 2 components: aqueous and enzymatic components.
• Aqueous component (contains HCO3) is important for
neutralizing stomach acid in the duodenum so pancreatic
enzymes can function properly
• Enzymatic component is essential for the proper digestion and
absorption of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
✓Pancreatic enzymes include trypsin, chemotrypsin, lipase, and
amylase

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 Functions of pancreatic juice enzymes
pancreatic amylase
Starch Maltose + Maltotriose
pH 7.0

Lipase + colipase
Fat（Triglyceride） Monoglyceride + Fatty acids
pH 8.0

protein
Enterokinase
Trypsinogen Trypsin

Chymotrypsinogen Chymotrypsin
polypeptide
Carboxypeptidase
amino acid
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 Liver
Functions of the Liver:
1) Metabolic regulation
✓ Store absorbed nutrients, vitamins
✓ Release nutrients as needed
2) Hematological regulation
✓ Plasma protein production
✓ Remove old RBCs
3) Production of bile
✓Required for fat digestion and
absorption
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 Small intestine Secretion
✓Secretion from duodenal gland and intestinal gland
✓Secretory volume is 1～3L/day
✓It contains inorganic ion, mucoprotein, IgA, various
enzyme, e.g. enterokinase ,etc
•Function:
1. Protective effect by mucous
2. Digestion by enzymes such as peptidase,
sucrase, lipase
3. Dilution
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Small intestine Enzymes

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 Secretion of large intestine

1. Colonic alkaline secretion to neutralize acids produced by

intestinal bacteria
2. Secretion of mucous for protection, lubrication of fecal
matter
3. Vitamin B and K absorption made from bacterial flora in
colon
Digestion and Absorption

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 Digestion and Absorption

✓Digestion is a process essential for the

conversion of food into a small and simple form.
 Mechanical digestion by mastication and
swallowing
 Chemical digestion by enzymes
✓Absorption is the process of transporting small
molecules from the lumen of the gut into blood
stream or lymphatic vessel.

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Chemical and Mechanical Digestion

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 Digestion and Absorption
✓ Small intestine is primary site for digestion and
absorption of food.
✓ Digestion occurs in the GI lumen by secreted
enzymes and on surface of enterocytes by membrane-
bound enzymes.
✓Absorption occurs by simple diffusion, facilitated
diffusion, active transport, endocytosis, and paracellular
transport.
✓Surface area of small intestine is greatly increased by
extensive folding and the projection of fingerlike villi
covered with microvilli.

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Anatomy of wall of GIT

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Intestinal Mucosa

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Intestinal Villi

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Absorption of Water

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 Digestion of CHO

(salivary and pancreatic)

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 Absorption of CHO

Enterocytes absorb glucose and galactose through an Na-

dependent secondary active transport process, while
fructose is absorbed by facilitated transport.
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Digestion and absorption of proteins

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Absorption of proteins
✓ The whole proteins
by endocytosis
✓ Amino acids and di
and tripetides by Na-
dependent 2ry active
transport

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 Digestion of fats

Cholesterol esters

Cholesterol esterase Phospholipids

Phospholipase A2
Cholesterol Phosphate + Fatty acids

Absorption
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 Absorption of Lipids
Large fatty Lumen
Intestinal Vessels
molecule
Epithelia
Chylomicrons
Lipase, cholesterol esterase
and phospholipase A2 (CM) or VLDL
particles
The smooth
endoplasmic reticulum

Fatty Acids Bile salts Triglycerides

Cholesterol Cholesterol esters
Monoglycerides Phospholipids (On The Apoprotein B)
In Golgi, they are packaged into
chylomicra or very low density
lipoprotein (VLDL) particles.
Micelles
Exocytosis

Venous system Lymph

vessel
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Absorption of Fats in the Small Intestine