digestion and absorbtion

• During digestion, large biological molecules are hydrolysed to smaller molecules that can be absorbed across cell membranes.

  Digestion in mammals of:

  • carbohydrates by amylases and membrane-bound disaccharidases
  • lipids by lipase, including the action of bile salts
  • proteins by endopeptidases, exopeptidases and membrane-bound dipeptidases.

  Mechanisms for the absorption of the products of digestion by cells lining the ileum of mammals, to include:

  • co-transport mechanisms for the absorption of amino acids and of monosaccharides
  • the role of micelles in the absorption of lipids.