why is the small intestine of herbivorous is long then coronivours ?
Answers
ʜ㋡ɪ㋡ ᴍ㋡ᴀ㋡ᴛ㋡ᴇ㋡
The length of small intestine differs in every organism according to the food they eat.
Herbivore's food contain cellulose. Cellulose forms the largest part of their food. Digestion of cellulose takes long time. Herbivores eat green leafy vegetables which contains cellulose. Cellulose is a polysaccharide which has strong glycosidic bonds.
In carnivores, their diet doesn't contain cellulose. Carnivores are not able to digest cellulose. So the length of their small intestine is less.
The intestine in herbivores ensures that the food remains for longer time and it ensures proper digestion of food. Herbivores chew cud.Meat is easier to digest than green plants. So carnivores like lion have shorter small intestine.
Herbivorous eat plants As we know plants contain cellulose so their digestive system is adapted to digest cellulose. It takes long time to absorb nutrients from plants which herbivorous eat so they have long alimentary canal too.
Herbivorous have large ceacum which helps them to digest cellulose and nutrients from plants.
Carnivores are able to digest nutrients quickly from the flesh they eat.
Carnivores food is in the form of high energy molecules which are easy to digest as compared to the food herbivorous eat which contains cellulose.
Carnivores also eat smaller amount of food as compared to herbivores.
Carnivores have simple digestive track because meat is easy to digest.
Herbivores have complex digestive system which contains chambers of stomach and chewing of cud because plants materials are much harder to digest.
In digestion of plants various kinds of plant foods are broken down, due to large amounts of indigestible fibres.
The enzymes required for the breakdown of beta acetal linkages lacks in humans So we can't digest cellulose.
Cellulose is hard to digest but it is full of energy.
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