Absorption and Assimilation of Fats - Notes for Class 11 Biology

Absorption and Assimilation of Fats  - Notes for Class 11 Biology 

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Fats are insoluble in water : This inability to dissolve in water makes it difficult for fat digestion. Fats are hydrophobic in nature so, it tends to clump together and form large droplets as it moves through the digestive system. By the time fat reaches the small intestine, it has not been digested at all. So, dietary fat in the small intestine looks like a fairly large globule of fat.

These globules remain undigested until the bile, that is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, mixes with the large fat droplets. Bile contains bile salts, which act as an emulsifier of lipids. The term ’emulsify’ means to break large fat droplets into smaller droplets. The bile salts break up the fat molecules and coat the fat to form much finer droplets. These finer droplets have more surface area, and this aids digestion because the fat-digesting enzyme pancreatic lipase can only act on the surface of the fat droplet. The enzymes of the small intestine are responsible for almost all of the fat digestion.

Epithelial Cells of the Small Intestine

Absorption takes place through the mucosal lining of the small intestine, and when these products pass through the mucosa, they enter the epithelial cells. Once inside the cells, the free fatty acids and monoglycerides enter the endoplasmic reticulum, which is a system inside the cell whose functions include synthesis and transport of lipids. Here, the digested products are resynthesized into triglycerides.

Triglycerides are the major form of fat stored by the body. So, an important fact to point out is that fats are reassembled in the epithelial cells of the small intestine. This makes fat absorption different than absorption of proteins and carbohydrates. With protein and carbohydrate absorption, we see their basic units, which are amino acids and monosaccharides, are able to pass through the intestinal epithelial cells without being altered.

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