The digestive tract contains different digestive enzymes to assist the body in breaking down food so that nutrients can be absorbed to keep us healthy and keep the systems in the body functioning properly. The main areas where enzymes do their important work include the mouth, the stomach, the duodenum, and the jejunum. Enzymes are secreted by various glands in each of these areas and the type secreted is different for each gland that comes into play. They include the salivary glands, glands in the stomach and small intestine, and the pancreas.
In the mouth, the salivary glands secrete ptyalin which digests starch into small pieces of multiple sugars and into soluble sugars. The stomach secrets gastric enzymes that each have a special function. Pepsin is the main gastric enzyme that breaks proteins down into smaller peptide segments. Gelatinase is the enzyme that breaks down meat collagens and gelatins.
Amylase breaks down starches, and lipase works on tributryin, which is a butter fat enzyme. The small intestine secretes several types of peptidases that break disaccharides down into monosaccharides. There are six types of these digestive enzymes and they include sucrase, maltase, isomaltase, lactase, and intestinal lipase.
Each performs an integral part in the process of digestion. The pancreas is a very important part of the digestive system in that it produces a number of enzymes that are secreted into the small intestine by way of the pancreatic duct to assist in breaking down the food we eat into absorbable proteins. As proteins, starches, carbohydrates, and other molecules are broken down, the villi in the small intestine absorb them in the lacteal or blood capillaries. The liver also contributes to digestion by secreting bile to help break down and emulsify fat to assist lipids in the duodenum to their job.
Our digestive system is a very complex arrangement of organs that have their own important functions to keep our bodies working properly. They work together in a complicated yet amazing way that may be hard to understand but are critical in the production of energy and nutrients that keep the rest of our systems running smoothly and keep us in good health.
Posted on July 21st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Indegestion
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