Question

Digestion of carbohydrates proteins and nucleic acid

Answer 1

carbohydrates:

• these are broken down by salivary amaylase to form maltose and maltose is broken down down into glucose by maltase; sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose by sucrase; lactose is broken down into galactose and glucose by lactase

• the enzymes to break down the carbohydrates into simpler units are present in small intestine and mouth.

proteins:

• these are broken down into peptones or peptides by pepsin under the action of HCl in stomach; and these peptones and peptides are further divided to amino acids by trypsin in small intestine

nucleic acids:

• the nucleic acids are divided into nucleotides by nucleases in the duodenum of small intestine.

Answer 2

• Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules (i.e., polysaccharides, proteins, fats, nucleic acids) into smaller ones (i.e., monosaccharides, amino acids, fatty acids, nucleotides). Catabolism: A simplified outline of the catabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

• bounded by a single membrane and contain hydrolytic enzymes. The important enzymes are acid phosphatases, sulphatases, proteases, peptidases, nucleases, lipases and carbohydrases. These enzymes are capable of digesting carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids.