CARBOHYDRATE

DIGESTION AND
ABSORPTION
Lourdes L. Balcueva, M.D.

OBJECTIVES
1. To be able to describe digestion of
carbohydrates in the GIT
2. To discuss absorption of carbohydrates
in the enterocytes
3. To describe carbohydrate transport
from the enterocyte to the blood

Digestion- the change of food from

a complex to a simple form; from an
insoluble to a soluble state in the
GIT
Mechanical digestion- involves
chewing of food into smaller

Chemical digestion - hydrolysis

- addition of water and digestive enzyme
- chemical breakdown of food particles

Metabolic digestion:
- nutrients used at cellular level for basic
life processes
- liver plays a central role reassembling
digested nutrients back into complex molecules

CHO Digestion:
Steps in digestion and absorption:
1. conversion of polymers to simpler,
soluble forms
2. transported across intestinal walls
3. delivery to tissues

CHO Digestion
1.Mouth saliva contains lingual amylase;
catalyzes a (14) glycoside bonds;
inactivated by strong pH in the stomach
2. Stomach - acid hydrolysis continues
the degradation; chyme (mixture of food,
saliva and gastric secretion) goes to small
intestines
3. Small intestines pancreatic amylase
brush borders disaccharidases ( sucrase,
maltase and lactase)

Polysaccharide Digestion
- Hydration of polysaccharides thru
mastication is essential for action of
amylase.
- Enzyme amylase is specific for internal
a 14 glycosidic linkages; inactive to
a 16 linkages and to 14 linkages of
branching units of glycosyl residues
- cleaved units are trisaccharides (maltotriose,
disaccharide maltose and oligosaccharide w/
one or more a 16 branches called a-limit dextrin

Polysaccharide Digestion
- Sucrase-isomaltase complex-hydrolytic
cleavage of a-16 linkage
- Oligosaccharidases and glucosidasesact on other products of digestion of
starch
- Final product of digestion- glucose
- Amylase occurs free in the intestinal
lumen
-- a-glucosidase and isomaltase attached to
enterocyte mucosal membrane
in

Disaccharidases
-Disaccharidases are attached to small
intestinal brush-border membrane
All disaccharidases are inducible EXCEPT
LACTASE
- Rate limiting factor in absorption of disaccharides
(except lactase) is the transport of the resulting
monomeric sugar
- Rate limiting factor of lactose absorption is the
hydrolysis of lactose itself

Brush Border

Absorption of Carbohydrates
- Only monosaccharides are absorbed by
the intestines
- Absorption rate of galactose is more that
of glucose; fructose is absorbed at lesser
rate than glucose
- Carbohydrates are polar- they cannot
diffuse thru lipid bilayer of cell membrane

Transport Mechanism

SGluT- ( Sodium Dependent Glucose

Transporter) absorption from lumen to
intestinal cell is by co- transport
mechanism (secondary active transport indirect
because mech only get the driving force from the preestablished gradient,in this case, Na gradient)
- glucose and galactose are transported
from lower concentration to higher
concentration;
- coupled to movement of Na from higher
concentration to lower conc.; drives glucose
molecules

Glucose Transport
- Sodium later expelled by sodiumpotassium ATPase
- Glucose Transporter Type 2 (GluT2)- not
Na dependent; releases glucose into the
blood; behaves as gated pore thru a
process called ping-pong mechanism

Absorption of Other Sugars

Galactose absorbed the same way as
glucose
Fructose enters and leaves epithelial
cells by facilitated diffusion utilizing
GluT5

Absorption of Glucose

Absorption of Glucose

Transporter

SGLUT 1

GLUT-1

GLUT-2

Major Sites
of Expression

Characteristics

Intestinal mucosa, kidney

tubules

Cotransports one molecule of

glucose or galactose along
with two sodium ions. Does
not transport fructose.

Brain, erythrocyte, endothelial

cells, fetal tissues

Transports glucose (high

affinity) and galactose, not
fructose. Expressed in many
cells.

Liver, pancreatic beta cell,

small intestine, kidney.

Tranports glucose, galactose

and fructose. A low affinity,
high capacity glucose
transporter; serves as a
"glucose sensor" in
pancreatic beta cells.

Glucose Transporters
Transports glucose (high affinity) and
galactose, not fructose. The primary glucose
transporter for neurons.

GLUT-3

Brain, placenta and

testes

GLUT-4

Skeletal and cardiac The insulin-responsive glucose transporter.

muscle, adipocytes High affinity for glucose.

GLUT-5

Small intestine,
sperm

Transports fructose, but not glucose or

galactose. Present also in brain, kidney,
adipocytes and muscle.

THANK YOU