Question

Short / Long answer type questions.
Describe the digestion of fats in various parts of the GI tract of humans

Answer 1

Lingual lipase is produced in the mouth, which begins to emulsify any fat present in the food. Once the food reaches the stomach, the parietal cells release acids (like hydrochloric acid), pepsin, and gastric amylase and lipase to help degrade food into chyme. The chyme is then moved into the duodenum or the upper part of the small intestine, which is the main site for the digestion of fats. Here, the bile salts break up and coat the fat to form 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. It breaks down fats into smaller molecules called fatty acids and glycerol.