Digestive system small intestine

Although products of fat digestion, including cholesterol, are absorbed in the first 100 cm of small intestine, the primary and secondary bile acids are absorbed almost exclusively in the ileum, and 98—99% are returned to the liver via the portal circulation. This is known as the enterohepatic circulation (Figure 26—6). However, lithocholic acid, because of its insolubility, is not reabsorbed to any significant extent. Only a small fraction of the bile salts escapes absorption and is therefore eliminated in the feces. Nonetheless, this represents a major pathway for the elimination of cholesterol. Each day the small pool of bile acids (about 3-5 g) is cycled through the intestine six to ten times and an amount of bile acid equivalent to that lost in the feces is synthesized from cholesterol, so that a pool of bile acids of constant size is maintained. This is accomplished by a system of feedback controls. 

In this model, no attempt is made to reproduce the in vivo physiochemical conditions occurring in the lumen of the human small intestine during digestion. This cell culture model only provides information about the intestinal absorption and metabolism processes of the compound. Using this cell culture system in con-... 

The pancreas is an exocrine gland and an endocrine gland. The exocrine tissue produces a bicarbonate solution and digestive enzymes. These substances are transported to the small intestine where they play a role in the chemical digestion of food. These functions are fully discussed in Chapter 18 on the digestive system. 

Bile is produced continuously by the liver bile salts are secreted by the hepatocytes and the water, sodium bicarbonate, and other inorganic salts are added by the cells of the bile ducts within the liver. The bile is then transported by way of the common bile duct to the duodenum. Bile facilitates fat digestion and absorption throughout the length of the small intestine. In the terminal region of the ileum, the final segment of the small intestine, the bile salts are actively reabsorbed into the blood, returned to the liver by way of the hepatic portal system, and resecreted into the bile. This recycling of the bile salts from the small intestine back to the liver is referred to as enterohepatic circulation. 

The small intestine is the longest (>6 m) and most convoluted organ in the digestive system. It is divided into three segments ... 

Protein digestion starts in the mouth and continues in your stomach and small intestines. This is due to pepsin, which is secreted in the saliva and obviously the gastric juice, followed by pancreatic enzymes, then absorbed by the mucosal cells in the small intestines. In short, the digestive system breaks down protein into its peptide amino acid structures so they can be absorbed in the small intestine via the... 

The processes for the digestion and absorption of fat- and water-soluble vitamins are different, due to their solubility properties. Fat-soluble vitamins and their precursors (A, [1-carotene, D, E and K) are digested and absorbed by processes similar to those for dietary fats, mainly in the small intestine. Most water-soluble vitamins require specific enzymes for their conversion from natural forms in feed-stuffs into the forms that are ultimately absorbed. Unlike fat-soluble vitamins that are absorbed mostly by passive diffusion, absorption of water-soluble vitamins involves active carrier systems to allow absorption into the portal blood. 

Obviously, satisfactory colonic absorption of the drug to be delivered is a sine qua non for the successful development of a colonic drug delivery system. However, situations exist when even reduced absorption from the large intestine (compared with the small intestine) would still justify colonic delivery, for instance in the case of a peptide drug that would otherwise be efficiently digested in the small intestine. 

Small intestine Uptake Digestive tract Epithelial cells Everted sac, Ussing-chamber experiments using intestinal epithelium, brush border membrane vesicles, Caco-2 cells monolayer, transporter expression system... 

The gastrointestinal (GI) microflora plays an important role in the health status of people and animals. The GI tract represents a much larger contact area with the environment, compared to the 2 m2 skin surface of our body (van Dijk 1997). The mucosal surface of the small intestine is increased by forming folds, intestinal villi, and the formation of microvilli in the enterocyte resorptive luminal membrane. The resulting surface of GI system is calculated to be 150-200m2, therefore it provides enough space for the interactions related to digestion and for the adhesion to the mucosal wall. 

In summary, triacylglycerols from the diet are digested by lipase and associate with bile salts into mixed micelles. The free fatty acids are absorbed by the cells of the small intestine, from which they are transported via the lymph system to the liver. From the liver, they are released as apolipoproteins in the circulation, carrying fatty acids and cholesterol to the cells throughout the body. 

FIG. 1 Digestion and absorption of proteins in the small intestine. (1) Brush-border peptidases, (2) brush-border amino acid transport systems, (3) brush-border peptide transport systems, (4) cytoplasmic peptidases, (5) basolateral amino acid transport systems, (6) basolateral peptide transport systems. 

Figure 6.2 Section of the small intestine. (A) Section through the small intestine showing plica circulares. (B) Magnified view of a section of the intestinal wall showing the villi and the four layers. (C) Microscopic view of three villi showing the internal structure. From V.C.Scanlon and T.Sanders (1995) The digestive system. Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology, F.A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, pp. 358-385...

The other approach is indirect, namely, to measure not enzymes as such, but their physiological biochemical efficacy. This can be achieved by oral administration of a composite test substance, which is hydrolyzed ( digested ) into its components exclusively by a specific pancreatic enzyme and subsequently absorbed and eliminated by the renal or the respiratory system. Ideally, the urinary excretion/respiratory exhalation of a metabolite of the test substance is proportional to its hydrolysis in the small intestine, which in turn is directly dependent on the quantity of pancreatic enzymes present. 

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