Carbohydrate digestion andabsorption

Abstract

Our body needs energy to perform various functions of the cell. Food is required to fulfill the energy requirement of the body. Protein, fats, vitamins and carbohydrates are the major food components. Out of these carbohydrate is considered as the main source of energy. Carbohydrate is chemical moiety having carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are simple to complex in nature. Energy resides in the bond energy of the carbohydrate molecule. Digestion of carbohydrate is the process by which the complex carbohydrate molecules get split into simpler carbohydrate moiety. Digestion is necessary because the complex molecules should be converted into simpler molecules that might able to get absorb by the intestinal cell. After absorption the molecules travel to different cells of the body via blood. Various forms of transporters are used for the transportation of glucose in the body. In the present chapter we discussed the chemical and physical properties of some monosaccharaide and polysaccharide; carbohydrate digestion through digestive system and enzymes involved; and mechanism of absorption. ? 2017 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.