ARS | Publication request: Carbohydrate digestion and absorption

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: March 1, 2006
Publication Date: May 1, 2006
Citation: Quezada-Calvillo, R., Robayo, C.C., Nichols, B.L. 2006. Carbohydrate digestion and absorption. In: Stipanuk, M.H., editor. Biochemical, Physiological, Molecular Aspects of Human Nutrition. 2nd edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier. p. 168-199.

Technical Abstract: A variety of simple and complex carbohydrates are present in human diets. Food carbohydrates include the sugars, starches, and fibers found mainly in fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk products. Small amounts of digestible carbohydrates come from non-plant sources (e.g., trehalose in insects and glycogen in muscle tissues). The digestible carbohydrates give rise to monosaccharide units that are absorbed by sugar transport systems. The processes involved in the digestion and absorption of the digestible carbohydrates are the focus of this chapter. The fate of the nondigestible carbohydrates, or dietary fiber, is discussed in detail in Chapter 11. Dietary fiber is made up mainly of complex nondigestible carbohydrates and resistant starches from plant foods. Although dietary fiber is not a source of glucose or other monosaccharides for the body, short-chain fatty acids produced from dietary fiber in the large intestine do supply some energy to the body.