Holozoic Nutrition
Holozoic Nutrition
Holozoic Nutrition
Introduction:
- Living cells require food to perform biological functions and obtain energy
for growth and repair.
- Nutrients are essential substances required by cells for various biological
functions.
Heterotrophic Nutrition:
- Organisms depend on ready-made food prepared by other organisms.
- Holozoic nutrition is a type of heterotrophic nutrition commonly found in
animals.
Holozoic Nutrition:
- Definition:
- Ingestion or intake of solid or liquid food from the environment.
- Stages:
1. Ingestion:
- Process of taking in food into the cell (unicellular) or body (multicellular).
- Occurs through cell surface or specific opening, such as the mouth.
2. Digestion:
- Breakdown of complex food into simple molecules.
- Chemical and mechanical processes aided by enzymes.
3. Absorption:
- Soluble food molecules absorbed by digestive membranes (e.g., intestinal
lining).
- Molecules utilized during metabolic activities.
4. Assimilation:
- Utilization of absorbed molecules in cell metabolism.
5. Egestion:
- Removal of undigested food from the cell or body.
- Intracellular Digestion:
- Occurs in single-celled organisms like protozoa.
- Food particles are taken in through the cell surface or plasma membrane.
- Digestion happens inside the cell without releasing enzymes outside.
- Termed as intracellular digestion.
- Extracellular Digestion:
- Found in multicellular animals like roundworms, insects, and mammals.
- Food is taken into a digestive tract or gut due to the large size of particles.
- Enzymes are released into the gut where digestion occurs outside the cells.
- Known as extracellular digestion.
- Amoeba:
- Unicellular, eukaryotic organism belonging to Protozoa.
- Microphagous feeder, feeds on minute food particles and microscopic
organisms like bacteria.
- Ingestion:
- Food captured and ingested through pseudopodia, temporary finger-like
extensions of cytoplasm.
- Pseudopodia extend towards food, forming a cup-like structure or food cup.
- Food particles trapped in the food cup, tips move together to enclose the
food.
- Enclosed food forms a sphere, termed as a food vacuole.
- Process termed as ingestion.
- Intracellular Digestion:
- Food vacuole moves inside the cytoplasm, attached with lysosomes
containing hydrolytic enzymes.
- Enzymes act on food particles inside the vacuole at varying pH (5.6 to 7.3),
initiating digestion.
- Food digestion occurs within the food vacuole.
- Digestive vacuole moves deeper into the cytoplasm via streaming
movement (cyclosis).
- Absorption and Assimilation:
- After digestion, food vacuole releases fine, cytoplasmic canals.
- Diffusible food particles move into these canals for absorption.
- Absorbed food particles diffuse into different parts of the cytoplasm for
assimilation.
- Digested food may form new protoplasm or broken down to liberate
energy.
- Planaria:
- Free-living flatworm belonging to Phylum Platyhelminthes.
- Found in wet places under rocks, close to streams, and in brackish water.
- Soft, elongated, flat body with a simple digestive system.
- Digestive System:
- Considered incomplete or sac-like.
- Mouth on a small, muscular tube, with the pharynx almost in the middle of
the body.
- Pharynx connected to the intestine via a short esophagus.
- Intestine divides into three blind branches, with numerous diverticula and
ramification.
- Feeding Behavior:
- Carnivorous, feeding on small larvae, insects, etc.
- Prey trapped in thick mucus secreted from the pharynx and sucked into the
pharynx through the mouth.
- Glandular cells secrete enzymes for extracellular digestion from the
pharynx to the intestine.
- Digestion Process:
- Muscular action of the body pushes food throughout the intestine.
- Food particles break into smaller ones and are taken up by cells lining the
gastrovascular cavity through endocytosis.
- Intracellular digestion occurs inside cells of the gastrovascular cavity.
- Digested food diffuses into mesenchyme cells from the gastrovascular
cavity.
- Intestine's branching system aids quick disposal of food to all body cells,
serving as an alternate circulatory system.
- Egestion:
- Undigested food in the intestine egested through the mouth.
This process outlines the digestion mechanism in planaria, highlighting both
intracellular and extracellular digestion and the role of the intestine in food
distribution throughout the body.
Stomach:
- Anatomy:
- The stomach is a "J" shaped muscular pouch located in the upper left of the
abdominal cavity.
- It connects to the esophagus anteriorly and the duodenum posteriorly.
- The top of the stomach lies against the diaphragm, and its both ends are
guarded by valves: the cardiac sphincter anteriorly and the pyloric sphincter
posteriorly.
- Function:
- Main organ for both mechanical and chemical digestion.
- Can store food for several hours and turns it into paste-like acidic chyme.
- Internally divided into four regions: cardia, fundus, corpus (body), and
pylorus.
- Receives food from the esophagus and empties gastric contents into the
duodenum through the pyloric sphincter.
- Structure:
- Four layers: mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa, and serosa.
- Mucosa contains numerous tubular glands and mucoid cells that secrete
mucous and bicarbonate ions for lubrication and protection.
- Histological regions: cardia (mucous secretion), fundic glands (main
mucoid and parietal cells for HCl secretion), and pyloric glands (mucous and
gastrin hormone secretion).
- Mechanical digestion facilitated by three layers of smooth muscles: oblique,
circular, and longitudinal.
- Chemical Digestion:
- Gastric juice released into the lumen of the stomach contains HCl and
pepsinogen.
- HCl softens food, kills germs, and activates pepsinogen into pepsin, which
breaks down proteins into peptones.
- Mucous layer protects stomach from HCl action.
- Factors affecting gastric juice secretion: neuronal, mechanical, and
hormonal (gastrin).
- In infants, rennin or chymosin secreted for digestion of milk protein
caseinogen.
- Peristaltic movements churn and mix food with gastric juice, transporting it
to the duodenum as chyme.
- Absorptive Role:
- Stomach also absorbs some digestive products, water, glucose, simple
sugars, amino acids, and fat-soluble substances.
Summary:
The stomach is a key digestive organ performing both mechanical and
chemical digestion. Its muscular walls churn and mix food with gastric juice,
creating chyme. Chemical digestion involves the action of gastric juice
containing HCl and pepsinogen, while the mucous layer protects the stomach
lining. Additionally, the stomach plays a minor role in absorption, absorbing
certain nutrients and water
disorders
1. Ulcer (Peptic Ulcer): Sores that develop in the gastrointestinal tract,
caused by erosion of the protective mucous layer by gastric juices. Symptoms
include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. Treatment
involves antibiotics and proton-pump inhibitors to reduce acid secretion.
2. Food Poisoning: Illness caused by consuming contaminated, spoilt, or
toxic food, often due to bacteria, viruses, parasites, or other pathogens.
Symptoms include stomach cramps, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. Treatment
includes rehydration, electrolyte solutions, and sometimes antibiotics.
3. Dyspepsia (Indigestion): Discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen after
eating or drinking, accompanied by bloating, nausea, and abdominal fullness.
It may cause heartburn due to acid reflux.
4. Obesity: Accumulation of excessive body fat, increasing the risk of
diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and certain cancers.
Treatment involves long-term lifestyle changes such as proper diet habits,
increased physical activity, and regular exercise.
5. Anorexia Nervosa: A psychological disorder characterized by an intense
fear of gaining weight, leading to refusal to eat adequately and resulting in
weight loss. It may be accompanied by induced vomiting.
6. Bulimia Nervosa: Involves binge eating followed by purging through
induced vomiting. Complications can lead to kidney failure, heart problems,
teeth decay, and electrolyte imbalances.
These disorders underscore the importance of maintaining a balanced diet,
healthy eating habits, and seeking medical help for psychological issues
related to food and body image.
Liver: The liver, the largest gland in the body, plays crucial roles in
metabolism, storage, and detoxification. It receives blood supply from the
hepatic artery (oxygenated blood) and the hepatic portal vein (nutrient-rich
blood). Key functions include:
- Secretion of Bile: Synthesized by hepatocytes, bile consists of bile salts,
bile pigments, and cholesterol, aiding in digestion.