Question

Animals like cows can digest cellulose, but humans cannot. Give reasons.

Answer 1

Cellulose is basically a chain of glucose like starch. Unlike starch, cellulose has a bond that cannot be broken down by animals. There are some animals, such as cows, goats and sheeps which graze grass that have symbiotic bacteria in their abdomen which can digest cellulose. Humans do not have these bacteria nor cellulase, the enzyme needed to break the bonds of cellulose whereas the bacteria in a cow's gut does produce cellulase.