Animal Nutrition and

Digestion
Professor Gavin Burnell
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental
Sciences (g.burnell@ucc.ie)

Digestions
Three dietary categories:
o Herbivores
o Carnivores
o Omnivores
Three nutritional Needs:
o Cellular work
o Biosynthesis

o Essential nutrients

Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats

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The four stages of food processing

Small
molecules

Pieces
of food

Mechanical
digestion

Chemical digestion
(enzymatic hydrolysis)

Nutrient
molecules
enter body
cells

Undigested
material

Food

INGESTION 2

DIGESTION

ABSORPTION

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ELIMINATION

Digestion

Can be Intracellular
within a cell
Or
Can be Extracellular in
a compartment
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Digestive Compartments - Intracellular Digestion

Intracellular digestion by endocytosis

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Extracellular Digestion Animals with simple body plans

Hydra
Gastrovascular cavity:
Digests food and
distributes nutrients
Tentacles
Mouth
Food

Gastrovascular
cavity
Epidermis
Mesenchyme
Gastrodermis
Nutritive
muscular
cells
Flagella
Gland cells
Food vacuoles
Mesenchyme
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Alimentary Canal- Complete Digestive Tract

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Humans

Tongue

Salivary
glands

Cardiac
orifice
Oral cavity
Mouth

Parotid gland
Salivary
glands

Sublingual gland
Pharynx
Esophagus

Submandibular gland

Esophagus

Pyloric
sphincter
Liver

Ascending
portion of
large intestine

Stomach

Gallbladder

Gallbladder
Liver
Pancreas

Stomach

Small
intestines

Pancreas

IIeum
of small
intestine

Small intestine
Duodenum of
small intestine
Large intestine
Rectum

Appendix
Anus
Cecum

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Large
intestines
Rectum
Anus
A schematic diagram of
the human digestive system

Movement of Food
Oral cavity - salivary amylase
Throat - pharynx

The Oesophagus (Persistalsis)

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Peristalsis
From mouth to stomach
4 The esophageal
sphincter relaxes,
allowing the
bolus to enter the
esophagus.

Epiglottis
up

Bolus of food
Tongue

Glottis
down
and open

Epiglottis
up

Pharynx

Esophageal
Epiglottis
sphincter
down
contracted

Glottis
Larynx
Trachea

Esophagus
To lungs

To stomach

1 When a person is not

swallowing, the esophageal
sphincter muscle is contracted,
the epiglottis is up, and the
glottis is open, allowing air
to flow through the trachea
to the lungs.

Glottis up
and closed

2 The swallowing
reflex is triggered
when a bolus of
food reaches the
pharynx.

Esophageal
sphincter
relaxed 5 After the food

Esophageal
sphincter
contracted

has entered the

esophagus, the
larynx moves
downward and
opens the
breathing
passage.

Relaxed
muscles
Contracted
muscles

3 The larynx, the

upper part of the
6 Waves of muscular
respiratory tract,
contraction
moves upward and
(peristalsis)
tips the epiglottis
move the bolus
over the glottis,
down the esophagus
preventing food
to the stomach.
from entering the
trachea.

Relaxed
muscles

Stomach
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The Stomach - Gastric juice

Esophagus
Cardiac orifice

Stomach

5 m

Pyloric
sphincter
Small
intestine
Folds of
epithelial
tissue
Interior surface of stomach.
The interior surface of the
stomach wall is highly folded
and dotted with pits leading
into tubular gastric glands.

Epithelium

Pepsinogen

Pepsin (active enzyme)

2

Gastric gland. The gastric

glands have three types of cells
that secrete different components
of the gastric juice: mucus cells,
chief cells, and parietal cells.

HCl
1
2 HCl converts
pepsinogen to pepsin.

Mucus cells secrete mucus,

which lubricates and protects
the cells lining the stomach.

3
Pepsin then activates
more pepsinogen,
starting a chain
reaction. Pepsin
begins the chemical
digestion of proteins.

Chief cells secrete pepsinogen, an inactive form of the

digestive enzyme pepsin.
Parietal cell
Parietal cells secrete
hydrochloric acid (HCl).

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1 Pepsinogen and HCI

are secreted into the
lumen of the stomach.

Chief cell

Gastric Ulcers
Helicobacter pylori
Bacteria

1 m

Mucus
layer of
stomach

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Enzymatic Action in the Small Intestine

Duodenum first part of intestine
enzymes are secreted from Accessory
organs
Liver

Bile

Gallbladder

Stomach

Acid chyme
Intestinal
juice

Pancreatic juice
Pancreas
Duodenum of
small intestine

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Pancreas
Produces proteases

Pancreas
Membrane-bound
enteropeptidase

Inactive
trypsinogen

Other inactive
proteases

Lumen of duodenum

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Trypsin

Active
proteases

Enzymatic digestion
Carbohydrate digestion
Oral cavity,Polysaccharides
pharynx, (starch, glycogen)
esophagus

Protein digestion

Nucleic acid
digestion

Fat digestion

Disaccharides
(sucrose, lactose)

Salivary amylase

Smaller polysaccharides,
maltose
Stomach

Proteins
Pepsin
Small polypeptides

Lumen of Polysaccharides
small intestine
Pancreatic amylases
Maltose and other
disaccharides

Polypeptides
Pancreatic trypsin and
chymotrypsin (These proteases
cleave bonds adjacent to certain
amino acids.)
Smaller
polypeptides

DNA, RNA
Pancreatic
nucleases

Nucleotides

Pancreatic carboxypeptidase

Small peptides

Disaccharidases

Fat droplets (A coating of

bile salts prevents small droplets from coalescing into
larger globules, increasing
exposure to lipase.)

Glycerol, fatty
acids, glycerides
Nucleotidases

Dipeptidases, carboxypeptidase,
Nucleosides
and aminopeptidase (These
Nucleosidases
proteases split off one amino acid at
a time, working from opposite ends of and
phosphatases
a polypeptide.)

Monosaccharides
acids
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Benjamin
Cummings

Bile salts

Pancreatic lipase

Amino acids

Epithelium
of small
intestine
(brush
border)

Fat globules (Insoluble in

water, fats aggregate as
globules.)

Nitrogenous bases,
sugars, phosphates

Hormones

Enterogastrone secreted by the

duodenum inhibits peristalsis and
acid secretion by the stomach,
thereby slowing digestion when acid
chyme rich in fats enters the
duodenum.

Liver

Enterogastrone
Gallbladder
Gastrin
CCK
Stomach

Amino acids or fatty acids in the

duodenum trigger the release of
cholecystokinin (CCK), which
stimulates the release of digestive
enzymes from the pancreas and bile
from the gallbladder.

Gastrin from the stomach

recirculates via the bloodstream
back to the stomach, where it
stimulates the production
of gastric juices.

Pancreas

Secretin

Duodenum

CCK
Key
Stimulation
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Inhibition

Secreted by the duodenum,

secretin stimulates the pancreas
to release sodium bicarbonate,
which neutralizes acid chyme
from the stomach.

Absorption of Nutrients in Small Intestine

Has villi and microvilli

Microvilli
(brush border)

Vein carrying blood to

hepatic portal vessel

Blood
capillaries

Epithelial
cells

Muscle layers
Epithelial cells

Villi

Large
circular
folds

Lacteal

Key
Intestinal wall
Nutrient
absorption
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2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Villi

Lymph
vessel

The Large Intestine

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