Lipids Digestion and Absorption

Digestion and
Absorption of lipids
Introduction
The average daily intake of lipids by adults is about 81 g
More than 90% is normally triacylglycerol (TAG, formerly called

triglyceride).
The remainder of the dietary lipids consists primarily of

cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, phospholipids, and unesterified
(free) fatty acids.
challenges
Lipids are insoluble in water
Triglycerides are too large to be absorbed
Solution:
Bile and pancreatic secretions

Emulsification and digestion
In stomach
Lingual lipase which originates from glands at the back of the tongue.
This enzyme targets mainly,
TAG molecules, particularly those containing fatty acids of short- or medium-

chain length (fewer than 12 carbons, such as are found in milk fat)
These same TAGs are also degraded by a separate gastric lipase, secreted by
the gastric mucosa.
Both enzymes are relatively acid stable, with pH optimums of pH 4 to pH 6.

These acid lipases play a particularly important role in lipid digestion in
neonates, for whom milk fat is the primary source of calories.
They also become important digestive enzymes in individuals with pancreatic

insufficiency, such as those with cystic fibrosis.
Lingual and gastric lipases aid these patients in degrading TAG molecules
(especially those with short- to medium-chain fatty acids) despite a near or
complete absence of pancreatic lipase.
Cystic fibrosis (CF)
This is autosomal recessive disorder
caused by mutations to the gene for the CF transmembrane conductance

regulator (CFTR) protein
This protein functions as a chloride channel on epithelium.
Defective CFTR results in decreased secretion of chloride and increased

reabsorption of sodium and water.
In the pancreas
the decreased hydration results in thickened secretions such that pancreatic
enzymes are not able to reach the intestine, leading to pancreatic
insufficiency.
Treatment includes replacement of these enzymes and supplementation with

fat-soluble vitamins.
In small intestine
Emulsification occurs in duodenum
It increases the surface area of hydrophobic lipid droplets and surrounding

aqueous solution so that they can act effectively
It is accomplished by
1. Detergent properties of bile acids (Made in liver and stored in gall bladder)
2. Mechanical mixing due to peristalsis
These emulsifying agents stabilize the lipid (small particles) and prevent them
from coalscing
Pancreatic enzymes
Pancreatic enzymes degrade
Triacylglycerides
Cholesterol esters
Phospholipids
These enzyme secretions are hormonally controlled

TAG degradation
TAG molecules are too large to be taken up efficiently by the mucosal cells of the
intestinal villi.
They are, therefore, acted upon by an esterase, pancreatic lipase, which

preferentially removes the fatty acids at carbons 1 and 3.
The primary products of hydrolysis are thus a mixture of 2-monoacylglycerol and free
fatty acids.
This enzyme is found in high concentrations in pancreatic secretions (23% of the
total protein present),
it is highly efficient catalytically, thus only severe pancreatic deficiency, such as that
seen in cystic fibrosis, results in significant malabsorption of fat.
Colipase is also secreted by the pancreas
It binds the lipase at a ratio of 1:1, and anchors it at the lipid-aqueous
interface.
Colipase restores activity to lipase in the presence of inhibitory substances

like bile acids that
bind the micelles.
Colipase is secreted as the zymogen, procolipase, which is activated in the
intestine by trypsin.
Orlistat, an antiobesity drug, inhibits gastric and pancreatic lipases, thereby

decreasing fat absorption, resulting in loss of weight.
Cholesteryl ester
degradation
Most dietary cholesterol is present in the free (nonesterified) form,
1015% present in the esterified form.
Cholesteryl esters are hydrolyzed by pancreatic cholesteryl ester hydrolase

(cholesterol esterase), which produces cholesterol plus free fatty acids.
Cholesteryl ester hydrolase activity is greatly increased in the presence of

bile salts.
Phospholipid degradation
Pancreatic juice is rich in the proenzyme of phospholipase A2 that, like
procolipase, is activated by trypsin and,
like cholesteryl ester hydrolase, requires bile salts for optimum activity.
Phospholipase A2 removes one fatty acid from carbon 2 of a phospholipid,

leaving lysophospholipid.
For example,
phosphatidylcholine (the predominant phospholipid during digestion)
becomes lysophosphatidylcholine.
The remaining fatty acid at carbon 1 can be removed by lysophospholipase,
leaving a glycerylphosphoryl base (for example, glycerylphosphorylcholine,
that may be excreted in the feces, further degraded, or absorbed.
Hormonal Regulation
cholecytokinin
Cells in the mucosa of the lower duodenum and jejunum produce a small peptide
hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK), in response to the presence of lipids and
partially digested proteins entering these regions of the upper small intestine.
CCK acts on the gallbladder (causing it to contract and release bilea mixture
of bile salts, phospholipids, and free cholesterol), and on the exocrine cells of the
pancreas (causing them to release digestive enzymes).
It also decreases gastric motility, resulting in a slower release of gastric contents

into the
small intestine
secretin
Other intestinal cells produce another small peptide hormone, secretin, in
response to the low pH of the chyme entering the intestine.
Secretin causes the pancreas and the liver to release a solution rich in
bicarbonate that helps neutralize the pH of the intestinal contents, bringing
them to the appropriate pH for digestive activity by pancreatic enzymes.
Absorption of lipids by
enterocytes (intestinal mucosal
cells)
Primary site of lipid absorption is the brush border membrane of the
enterocytes (mucosal cell).
This membrane is separated from the liquid contents of the intestinal lumen by
an unstirred water layer that mixes poorly with the bulk fluid.
Free fatty acids, free cholesterol, and 2-monoacylglycerol are the primary
products of lipid digestion in the jejunum.
These along with bile salts and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), form
mixed micellesdisk shaped clusters of amphipathic lipids that coalesce with
their hydrophobic groups on the inside and their hydrophilic groups on the
outside.
Mixed micelles are, therefore, soluble in the aqueous environment of the intestinal
lumen.
These particles approach the primary site of lipid absorption.
The hydrophilic surface of the micelles facilitates the transport of the hydrophobic lipids
through
the water layer to the brush border membrane where they are absorbed.
Bile salts are absorbed in the ileum.
Note: Relative to other dietary lipids, cholesterol is only poorly absorbed by the
enterocytes.
Drug therapy (ezetimibe2) can further reduce cholesterol absorption in the small
intestine.
Short- and medium chain length fatty acids do not require the assistance of mixed
micelles for absorption by the intestinal mucosa.
Lipid Malabsorption
Lipid malabsorption, resulting in increased lipid (including the fatsoluble
vitamins and essential fatty acids) in the feces.
It is also called steatorrhea.
It can be caused by disturbances in lipid digestion and/or absorption.
Such disturbances can result from several conditions, including
1. CF (causing poor digestion)
2. shortened bowel (causing decreased absorption).
Secretion of lipids from
enterocytes
Virtually all long-chain fatty acids entering the enterocytes are used to form
TAGs by the enzyme complex (TAG synthase), phospholipids, and cholesteryl
esters.
Short- and medium-chain length fatty acids are not converted to their CoA
derivatives, and are not re esterified to 2-monoacylglycerol.
Instead, they are released into the portal circulation, where they are carried
by serum albumin to the liver.
Being hydrophobic these products (TAGs and cholesterol esters) aggregate in

aqueous environment to form lipid droplets surrounded by a thin layer
composed of phospholipids, unesterified cholesterol, and a molecule of the
characteristic protein, apolipoprotein B-48
This layer stabilizes the particle and increases its solubility, thereby
preventing multiple particles from coalescing.
The particles are released by exocytosis from enterocytes into the lacteals
(lymphatic vessels originating in the villi of the small intestine).
The presence of these particles in the lymph after a lipid-rich meal gives it a
milky appearance.
This lymph is called chyle (as opposed to chymethe name given to the
semifluid mass of partially digested food that passes from the stomach to the
duodenum), and the particles are named chylomicrons.
Chylomicrons follow the lymphatic system to the thoracic duct, and are then
conveyed to the left subclavian vein, where they enter the blood.
Use of dietary lipids by the
tissues
Triacylglycerol contained in chylomicrons is broken down primarily in the
capillaries of skeletal muscle and adipose tissues, but also those of the heart,
lung, kidney, and liver.
Triacylglycerol in chylomicrons is degraded to free fatty acids and glycerol by

lipoprotein lipase.
This enzyme is synthesized primarily by adipocytes and muscle cells.
It is secreted and becomes associated with the luminal surface of endothelial

cells of the capillary beds of the peripheral tissues.
Deficiency disorders
Familial lipoprotein lipase deficiency (Type I hyperlipo proteinemia) is a rare,
autosomal recessive disorder.
It is caused by a deficiency of lipoprotein lipase or its coenzyme,

apolipoprotein C-II.
The result is fasting chylomicronemia and hypertriacylglycerolemia.

Fate of free fatty acids
The free fatty acids derived from the hydrolysis of TAG may either
1. directly enter adjacent muscle cells or adipocytes,
2. they may be transported in the blood in association with serum albumin
until they are taken up by cells
Most cells can oxidize fatty acids to produce energy.
Adipocytes can also re esterify free fatty acids to produce TAG molecules,
which are stored
until the fatty acids are needed by the body.
Fate of glycerol and
chylomicrons
Glycerol is Used almost exclusively by the liver to produce glycerol 3-phosphate, which can
enter either glycolysis or gluconeogenesis by oxidation to dihydroxyacetone phosphate
chylomicron remnants (which contain cholesteryl esters, phospholipids, apolipoproteins, fat-

soluble vitamins,
and some TAG) bind to receptors on the liver.
These are then endocytosed.
The remnants are then hydrolyzed to their component parts.
Cholesterol and the nitrogenous bases of phospholipids (choline) can be recycled by the body.
[Note: If removal of remnants by the liver is decreased due to impaired binding to their
receptor, they accumulate in the plasma.
This is seen in Type III hyperlipoproteinemia (rare, also called familial dysbetalipoproteinemia)

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Lipids Digestion and Absorption

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Digestion and

More than 90% is normally triacylglycerol (TAG, formerly called

The remainder of the dietary lipids consists primarily of

Triglycerides are too large to be absorbed

Bile and pancreatic secretions

TAG molecules, particularly those containing fatty acids of short- or medium-

Both enzymes are relatively acid stable, with pH optimums of pH 4 to pH 6.

They also become important digestive enzymes in individuals with pancreatic

caused by mutations to the gene for the CF transmembrane conductance

This protein functions as a chloride channel on epithelium.

Defective CFTR results in decreased secretion of chloride and increased

Treatment includes replacement of these enzymes and supplementation with

It increases the surface area of hydrophobic lipid droplets and surrounding

These enzyme secretions are hormonally controlled

They are, therefore, acted upon by an esterase, pancreatic lipase, which

Colipase restores activity to lipase in the presence of inhibitory substances

Orlistat, an antiobesity drug, inhibits gastric and pancreatic lipases, thereby

1015% present in the esterified form.

Cholesteryl esters are hydrolyzed by pancreatic cholesteryl ester hydrolase

Cholesteryl ester hydrolase activity is greatly increased in the presence of

Phospholipase A2 removes one fatty acid from carbon 2 of a phospholipid,

It also decreases gastric motility, resulting in a slower release of gastric contents

Being hydrophobic these products (TAGs and cholesterol esters) aggregate in

Triacylglycerol in chylomicrons is degraded to free fatty acids and glycerol by

This enzyme is synthesized primarily by adipocytes and muscle cells.

It is secreted and becomes associated with the luminal surface of endothelial

It is caused by a deficiency of lipoprotein lipase or its coenzyme,

The result is fasting chylomicronemia and hypertriacylglycerolemia.

chylomicron remnants (which contain cholesteryl esters, phospholipids, apolipoproteins, fat-

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