Section 4.

NUTRITION

§10. The digestive process and the role of enzymes

Learning objectives: to describe the processes in the human digestive tract, to establish the
relationship between organic substances and the corresponding enzymes in the digestive
process.

How does the human body absorb and use organic substances? How are respiration and
digestion related? How much energy does our body receive when 1 g of carbohydrates, fats and
proteins are broken down? What are the components of carbohydrates, fats and proteins?
Name the organs of the human digestive tract. What structures are found in the oral cavity and
why are they needed? In which part of the digestive system does the main process of
absorption of digested organic substances into the blood take place? What substances are not
digested in the digestive organs?

To master the topic well, you should review paragraphs 14 and 24 from the 7th grade textbook:
paragraphs 3-5, 11-12 from the 8th grade textbook.

The human digestive system, like many other higher animals, consists of three processes:
physical (breakdown of food), chemical (digestion of food by the action of digestive juices) and
physiological (absorption of nutrients into the blood). The last two processes: secretion and
absorption are called absorption. Digestion is the absorption of nutrients by the body. That is, as
a result of digestion, proteins, fats and carbohydrates contained in food are absorbed into the
blood and converted into substances capable of being distributed throughout the cells of our
body. Digestion can be divided into the digestion of nutrients and their absorption into the blood.
Digestion includes mechanical chewing and chemical digestion under the influence of special
digestive enzymes. What are enzymes? These are special catalysts-proteins that accelerate
chemical reactions hundreds and thousands of times. Moreover, many reactions cannot occur at
all without enzymes.

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Digestive enzymes are proteins that accelerate the decomposition reaction of food, that is, they
digest organic substances. Recall the role of the lysosome in the cell. The lysosome is an
organelle that is capable of breaking down and digesting various substances.

Absorption is the physiological process by which small molecules of organic substances formed
during digestion pass through the intestinal wall into the blood or lymph.

The digestive organs are divided into two large groups; the digestive tract and the digestive
glands. The first part of the digestive tract is the abomasum
Figure 17. Digestion and absorption of food:
1- maxilla; 2 tongue; 3 pharynx; 4 salivary glands; 5 mandible

jawbone; 6 larynx: 7 esophagus: 8 liver: 9 stomach; 10 gallbladder:

11- duodenum (duodenum); 12 stomach; 13 pancreas; 14 gallbladder; 15 spleen;

a) sudden movement of the stomach; c) the mucous membrane of the stomach is shown torn;

6) mucous membrane of the stomach; c) hairs on the mucous membrane of the stomach

(Figure 17). In the mouth, food is: 1) crushed with the help of teeth (chewing)

(sniffing); 2) moistened with saliva; 3) some bacteria are killed; 4) the consistency and
temperature of the food are determined. Most importantly, carbohydrates are broken down here.
This is done under the influence of the main salivary enzyme amylase. It breaks down starch to
glucose. The enzyme maltase catalyzes the breakdown of maltose. Some harmful bacteria are
killed by the growth of lysozyme.

The pharynx and esophagus are hollow organs with a well-developed muscular layer. They
carry food from the oral cavity to the stomach (Figure 17).

The pharynx is a common part of the respiratory and digestive systems. At the entrance to the
pharynx, there is a cartilage called the nasopharynx, which prevents food from entering the
respiratory tract (choking). The upper part of the esophagus

47All textbooks in Kazakhstan are on [Link]

One-third (as in the pharynx) consists of striated muscles. Their contraction is important when
moving large, hard pieces of food. The inner epithelial layer of the esophagus does not contain
enzymes, but it secretes saliva, which facilitates the movement of food.

The stomach is the largest part of the digestive tract. Its distinguishing feature is its elasticity.
This is achieved by folds in the mucous membrane. The stomach wall consists of three layers of
smooth muscle. It provides contraction in all directions and mixing of food with gastric juice. The
epithelium contains many unicellular glands that secrete gastric juice (up to 2 liters per day). It
contains mucus (protection against self-digestion), the enzyme pepsin, which breaks down
proteins into amino acids, and hydrochloric acid, which activates the enzyme pepsin.

The first part of the stomach, the duodenum, is filled with bile. The ducts of the liver and
pancreas open into it. The liver secretes bile. We will consider how it participates in digestion in
the next paragraph. The pancreas is called pancreas in Latin. It secretes pancreatic juice -
lipase, which is a digestive enzyme in the intestine. The main enzyme in pancreatic juice is
lipase. It breaks down fats into glycerol and fatty acids. There is also the trypsin enzyme, which
digests proteins, and the amylase enzyme, which digests carbohydrates. It is important to
remember that lipase does not work without bile.

The remaining parts of the small intestine absorb the digested substances into the blood, lymph,
and lymphatic system through the intestinal villi. The results of the breakdown of proteins and
carbohydrates: amino acids and glucose are absorbed into the blood. And the glycerol and fatty
acids formed when fats are digested are transformed into the lymph and transported there.

In the small intestine, water, vitamins, and undigested mineral salts are absorbed into the blood.
In addition, plant matter is broken down here by symbiotic bacteria called Escherichia coli.
Undigested food waste is excreted from the body through the anus, the last part of the small
intestine.

The action of digestive enzymes is basically represented in the following diagram:

can show:

Amylase Carbohydrates (starch) glucose

pepsin, amino acids, neurotransmitters

trypsin and lipase Fats glycerol and fatty acids

Perfect — you’re preparing a presentation about the digestive process and the role of
enzymes.​
Here’s a ready-to-use interactive and student-friendly slide text set (you can copy this
directly into PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Canva).​
Each slide has short, clear content + fun engaging elements (questions, visuals, or class
activity cues).

🎯 Slide 1. Title Slide

📘
The Digestive Process and the Role of Enzymes​

🧠
Section 4: Nutrition​
Learning goals:

●​ Understand how food is broken down and absorbed.​

●​ Learn what enzymes do and where they act.​

●​ Connect digestion with energy and respiration.​

💬 Think about it: Why do we need to digest food before it helps our body?

🍎 Slide 2. What Is Digestion?

Digestion = breaking food into simple substances your body can absorb.

🧩 Three main stages:

1.​ Physical (Mechanical) – chewing, mixing, grinding.​

2.​ Chemical – enzymes break food into small molecules.​

3.​ Physiological (Absorption) – nutrients enter blood or lymph.​

💡 Fun fact: Your body produces up to 2 liters of gastric juice every day!

🧪 Slide 3. Meet the Enzymes!

✂️
Enzymes = special proteins that speed up digestion.​
They act like “chemical scissors” cutting large molecules into smaller pieces.

Enzyme Works On Produces

Amylase Carbohydrates Glucose

(starch)

Pepsin Proteins Amino acids

Trypsin Proteins Amino acids

Lipase Fats Glycerol + Fatty acids

🎲 Quick quiz:​
Which enzyme works in the mouth? 👄​
(Answer: Amylase!)

👄 Slide 4. The Journey of Food Begins: The Mouth

In the Mouth:
 ●​ Teeth 🦷 crush food.​
●​ Saliva 💧 moistens it.​

●​ Enzyme amylase breaks down starch → glucose.​

●​ Lysozyme kills bacteria.​

●​ Tongue 👅 checks taste & temperature.​

🎯 Activity:​
Chew a piece of bread for 1 minute. Notice it tastes sweet? That’s starch turning into glucose!

🫁 Slide 5. Through the Pharynx and Esophagus

●​ Pharynx: shared by both digestion & respiration.​
The epiglottis closes the airway during swallowing.​

●​ Esophagus: a muscular tube that pushes food to the stomach (peristalsis).​

🚀 Demo idea:​
Show a marble rolling in a soft tube → like food moving in the esophagus!

🍲 Slide 6. In the Stomach

The stomach = mixer + acid factory!

Inside the stomach:

●​ Food is mixed with gastric juice.​

●​ Pepsin begins protein digestion.​

●​ HCl (acid) kills bacteria & activates pepsin.​

●​ Mucus protects stomach walls.​

🧠 Did you know?​
The stomach wall has 3 layers of muscles to churn food in all directions.

💚 Slide 7. The Duodenum: Digestion Super Center

Duodenum = first part of the small intestine.​
It receives:

●​ Bile from the liver → helps digest fats.​

●​ Pancreatic juice from pancreas → has 3 key enzymes:​

○​ Amylase → starch → glucose​

○​ Trypsin → proteins → amino acids​

○​ Lipase → fats → glycerol + fatty acids​

💡 Remember: Lipase can’t work without bile!

🩸 Slide 8. Absorption in the Small Intestine

The inner surface has millions of villi (tiny fingers).​
They absorb nutrients into the blood and lymph.

Substance Goes
Into

Glucose, Amino acids Blood

Fatty acids, Glycerol Lymph

💬 Think: Why do you think villi are shaped like tiny fingers?​
➡️ (Answer: To increase surface area for absorption!)

🚽 Slide 9. What Happens to Undigested Food?

 ●​ Unused food passes to the large intestine.​

●​ Water, vitamins, and minerals are absorbed.​

●​ E. coli bacteria help break down leftovers.​

●​ Waste leaves the body through the anus.​

😄 Fun fact: The large intestine is about 1.5 meters long!

⚡ Slide 10. Energy from Food

When digested food is used in respiration, it releases energy.

Nutrient 1 g gives
(kcal)

Carbohydrate 4 kcal
s

Proteins 4 kcal

Fats 9 kcal

🔥 Mini challenge:​
Which nutrient gives the most energy?​
(Answer: Fats!)

🌟 Slide 11. Digestion Recap

From mouth → anus:​
Mouth → Pharynx → Esophagus → Stomach → Small intestine → Large intestine → Anus

Key ideas:

●​ Enzymes = chemical helpers.​

●​ Digestion = breakdown + absorption.​

●​ Absorbed nutrients = energy for cells.​

🎉 Quick review game:​
Match the enzyme to its food → amylase, pepsin, lipase!

💭 Slide 12. Reflection & Connection

🧠 Think about these questions:
1.​ How are digestion and respiration connected?​

2.​ Why can’t our body use food directly without digestion?​

3.​ What would happen if enzymes stopped working?​

👩‍🏫 Discussion idea:​

Students form pairs and explain digestion using only hand gestures — others guess which
organ it is!

Would you like me to make this into a ready PowerPoint or Google Slides file (with visuals
and layout)?​
I can format it with icons, colors, and image suggestions for each slide (e.g., villi diagram,
enzyme table, digestive system image).