Unit 7 – Animal Nutrition

Syllabus outcomes

Diet Digestive System

1 Describe what is meant by a 1 Identify in diagrams and images the main organs
balanced diet of the digestive system, limited to:
(a) alimentary canal: mouth, oesophagus, stomach,
2 State the principal dietary small intestine (duodenum and
sources and describe ileum) and large intestine (colon, rectum, anus)
the importance of: (b) associated organs: salivary glands, pancreas, liver
(a) carbohydrates and gall bladder
(b) fats and oils
(c) proteins 2 Describe the functions of the organs of the
(d) vitamins, limited to C and D digestive system listed in 7.2.1, in relation to:
(e) mineral ions, limited to calcium (a) ingestion – the taking of substances, e.g. food
and iron and drink, into the body
(f) fibre (roughage) (b) digestion – the breakdown of food
(g) water (c) absorption – the movement of nutrients from the
intestines into the blood
3 State the causes of scurvy and (d) assimilation – uptake and use of nutrients by
rickets cells
(e) egestion – the removal of undigested food from
the body as faeces

Physical Digestion

1 Describe physical digestion as the breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical change to
the food molecules

2 State that physical digestion increases the surface area of food for the action of enzymes in chemical
digestion

3 Identify in diagrams and images the types of human teeth: incisors, canines, premolars and molars

4 Describe the structure of human teeth, limited to: enamel, dentine, pulp, nerves, blood vessels and
cement, and understand that teeth are embedded in bone and the gums

5 Describe the functions of the types of human teeth in physical digestion of food

6 Describe the function of the stomach in physical digestion

7 Outline the role of bile in emulsifying fats and oils to increase the surface area for chemical digestion
 Absorption
Chemical Digestion
1 State that the small intestine
1 Describe chemical digestion as the break down is the region where nutrients
of large insoluble molecules into small soluble are absorbed
molecules
2 State that most water is
2 State the role of chemical digestion in producing absorbed from the small
small soluble molecules that can be absorbed intestine but that some is also
absorbed from the colon
3 Describe the functions of enzymes as follows:
(a) amylase breaks down starch to simple reducing 3 Explain the significance of
sugars villi and microvilli in increasing
(b) proteases break down protein to amino acids the internal surface area of
(c) lipase breaks down fats and oils to fatty acids the small intestine
and glycerol
4 Describe the structure of a
4 State where, in the digestive system, amylase, villus
protease and lipase are secreted and where they
act 5 Describe the roles of
capillaries and lacteals in villi
5 Describe the functions of hydrochloric acid in
gastric juice, limited to killing harmful
microorganisms in food and providing an acidic pH
for optimum enzyme activity

6 Describe the digestion of starch in the digestive

system:
(a) amylase breaks down starch to maltose
(b) maltase breaks down maltose to glucose on
the membranes of the epithelium lining the
small intestine

7 Describe the digestion of protein by proteases in

the digestive system:
(a) pepsin breaks down protein in the acidic
conditions of the stomach
(b) trypsin breaks down protein in the alkaline
conditions of the small intestine

8 Explain that bile is an alkaline mixture that

neutralises the acidic mixture of food and gastric
juices entering the duodenum from the stomach,
to provide a suitable pH for enzyme action
 TOPIC:7 ANIMAL NUTRITION

Balanced Diet
• A balanced diet consists of all of the food groups in the correct proportions
• The necessary food groups are:
o Carbohydrates
o Proteins
o Lipids
o Vitamins
o Minerals
o Dietary Fibre
o Water

Carbohydrates, Fats/Oils and Proteins

Vitamins
• They are not digested or broken down for energy
• Usually they are not built into the body structures
• They are vital in small quantities for health
• They are needed for chemical reactions in the cells working with enzymes

Plants can make these vitamins in their leaves, but humans have to eat plants or animals to get them ready-made.

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Mineral ions
These are sometimes called mineral salts or minerals. They are found in the food we eat.

Scurvy & Rickets

Scurvy
• Scurvy is the name for a severe vitamin C deficiency
o It is caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet for over 3 months
• Its symptoms include:
o Anemia, Exhaustion, Spontaneous bleeding, Pain in the limbs, Swelling, Gum ulcerations and Tooth
loss
• Scurvy can be treated with oral or intravenous vitamin C supplements

Rickets
• Rickets is a condition in children characterised by poor bone development
• Symtpoms include:
o Bone pain
o Lack of bone growth
o Soft, weak bones (sometimes causing deformities)
• Rickets is caused by a severe lack of vitamin D
o Vitamin D is required for the absorption of calcium into the body
Þ Calcium is a key component of bones and teeth
• Vitamin D mostly comes from exposure to sunlight but it can also be found in some foods (fish, eggs and butter)
• The treatment for rickets is to increase consumption of foods containing calcium and vitamin D
o Alternatively vitamin D supplements can be prescribed

Dietary fibre (roughage)

When we eat vegetables and other fresh plant material, we take in a large quantity of plant cells. The cell walls of
plants are made of cellulose, but we do not have enzymes for digesting this substance. The result is that the plant cell
walls reach the large intestine (colon) without being digested. This undigested part of the diet is called fibre or
roughage.
The fibre increases the contents of the colon and help it to retain water. This softens the faeces and reduces the time
needed for the undigested material to pass out of the body. Both effects help to prevent constipation and keep the
colon healthy. Most vegetables and whole cereal grains contain fibre.

Water
• About 70% of most tissue consists of water;
• it is a vital part of cytoplasm.
• The body fluids, blood, lymph and tissue fluid are composed mainly of water.
• Digested food, salts and vitamins are carried around the body as a watery solution in the blood
• Excretory products like excess salt and urea are removed from the body in solution by the kidneys.
o So, water is a solvent and a transport medium for these substances.

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Digestive system
Identifying Organs of the Digestive System

Organs of the Digestive System

Stages of food breakdown

Food taken into the body goes through 5 different stages during its passage through the alimentary canal (the gut):
• Ingestion - the taking of substances, e.g. food and drink, into the body through the mouth
• Mechanical digestion - the breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical change to the food
molecules
• Chemical digestion - the breakdown of large, insoluble molecules into small, soluble molecules
• Absorption - the movement of small food molecules and ions through the wall of the intestine into the blood
• Assimilation - the movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the body where they are used,
becoming part of the cells
• Egestion - the passing out of food that has not been digested or absorbed, as faeces, through the anus

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Functions of the Digestive Organs Table

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Physical Digestion

• Physical digestion (sometimes referred to as mechanical digestion) is the breakdown of food into smaller
pieces without chemical change to the food molecules.
• The processes that take place during physical digestion help to increase the surface area of food for the
action of enzymes during chemical digestion.
• It is mainly carried out by the chewing action of the teeth, the churning action of the stomach and the
emulsification of fats by bile in the duodenum.

Types of Human Teeth

• Teeth are held firmly in the bone of the jaw

• They are used for chewing to increase the surface area of the food so that it can be exposed to saliva and
other digestive juices and broken down more quickly
• The differing shapes and sizes of teeth enable them to perform slightly different functions:
• Incisors - chisel-shaped for biting and cutting
• Canines - pointed for tearing, holding and biting
• Premolars and molars - larger, flat surfaces with ridges at the edges for chewing and grinding up food

Teeth in human upper jaw Human jaws and teeth

Summary of types of human teeth and their functions

Tooth structure
• Part of a tooth is above the gum line. The gum is tissue that covers the jaws.
• The rest is embedded in the jaw bone and gum.
• The surface of the tooth above the gum is covered by a very hard layer of enamel. This layer is replaced by
cement in the root. This allows the tooth to grip to its bony socket in the jaw.
• Below the enamel is a layer of dentine. Dentine is softer than enamel.
• Inside the dentine is a pulp cavity, containing nerves and blood vessels. These enter the tooth through a
small hole at the base of the root.

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 Section through a molar tooth
The Stomach
• The stomach is one of a number of organs that make up the digestive system.
• The role of the digestive system is to break down large insoluble molecules into smaller, soluble food
molecules to provide the body with nutrients.
• The stomach lining contains muscles which contract to physically squeeze and mix the food with the strong
digestive juices that are present. Also known as "stomach churning".
• Food is digested within the stomach for several hours.

Three types of tissue found in the stomach are muscular, epithelial and glandular. These tissues work together to allow the
stomach to carry out its role.

Bile production and secretion

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Cells in the liver produce bile which is then stored in the gallbladder
Bile has two main roles:
• It is alkaline to neutralise the hydrochloric acid which comes from the stomach
• The enzymes in the small intestine have a higher (more alkaline) optimum pH than those in the stomach
• It breaks down large drops of fat into smaller ones. This is known as emulsification.
• The larger surface area allows lipase to chemically break down the lipid into glycerol and fatty acids faster

Chemical Digestion
• The role of chemical digestion is to produce small soluble molecules that can be absorbed

Enzymes in Digestion

Amylases
• Amylase is secreted into the alimentary canal in the mouth and the duodenum (from the pancreas) and
digests starch to maltose (a disaccharide)
• Maltose is digested by the enzyme maltase into glucose on the membranes of the epithelium lining of
the small intestine

The digestion of starch

Proteases
• Proteases are a group of enzymes that break down proteins into amino acids in the stomach and small
intestine (with the enzymes in the small intestine having been produced in the pancreas)
• Protein digestion takes place in the stomach and duodenum with two main enzymes produced:
• Pepsin is produced in the stomach and breaks down protein in acidic conditions
• Trypsin is produced in the pancreas and secreted into the duodenum where is breaks down protein in
alkaline conditions

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 The digestion of proteins
Lipases
• Lipase enzymes are produced in the pancreas and secreted into the duodenum
• They digest lipids into fatty acids and glycerol

The digestion of lipids

Hydrochloric Acid
• The stomach produces several fluids which together are known as gastric juice
• One of the fluids produced is hydrochloric acid
• This kills bacteria in food and gives an acid pH for enzymes to work in the stomach

How is a low pH helpful in the stomach?

• The low pH kills bacteria in food that we have ingested as it denatures the enzymes in their
• cells, meaning they cannot carry out any cell reactions to maintain life
• Pepsin, produced in the stomach, is an example of an enzyme which has a very low optimum pH - around pH
2
• The hydrochloric acid produced in the stomach ensures that conditions in the stomach remain within the
optimum range for pepsin to work at its fastest rate

Absorbing Nutrients
• Absorption is the movement of digested food molecules from the digestive system into the blood (glucose and
amino acids) and lymph (fatty acids and glycerol)
• Nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine

Absorbing Water
• Water is absorbed in both the small intestine and the colon, but most absorption of water (around 80%)
happens in the small intestine

Adaptations of the Small Intestine

• The ileum is adapted for absorption as it is very long and has a highly folded surface with millions of villi
(tiny, finger like projections)
• These adaptations massively increase the surface area of the ileum, allowing absorption to take place
faster and more efficiently
• Microvilli on the surface of the villus further increase surface area for faster absorption of nutrients
• Wall of the villus is one cell thick meaning that there is only a short distance for absorption to happen by
diffusion and active transport

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 • Well supplied with a network of blood capillaries that transport glucose and amino acids away from the
small intestine in the blood
• Lacteal runs through the centre of the villus to transport fatty acids and glycerol away from the small
intestine in the lymph

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