ARS | Publication request: Digestion and Absorption of Carbohydrates

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: October 1, 2008
Publication Date: January 1, 2009
Citation: Quezada-Calvillo, R., Nichols, B.L. 2009. Digestion and absorption of carbohydrates. In: Pond, W.G., Nichols, B.L., Brown, D.L., editors. Adequate Food for All: Culture, Science, and Technology of Food for the 21st Century. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 69-87.

Technical Abstract: Carbohydrates are the major dietary sources of energy for humans. While most dietary carbohydrates are derived from multiple botanical sources, lactose and trehalose are the only animal-derived carbohydrates. Digestion of starch, the carbohydrate most abundantly consumed by humans, depends on the concerted activity of the six enzyme activities: salivary and pancreatic amylases, sucrase-isomaltase, and maltase-glucoamylase. Simpler carbohydrates such as sucrose, lactose, or trehalose, only require the activities of sucrase, lactase, and trehalase for their digestion. Glucose, galactose, and fructose are the main monosaccharides produced by digestion of dietary carbohydrates that are metabolized by humans.