One of Australia's largest growing problem is obesity. Obesity is caused by a surplus of energy or calories which are stored into the body as fat. The aim of the experiment is to test what macronutrient protein,fat,sugars,carbohydrates cause the largest increase of weight in worms. This will be done by setting up compost bins and feeding the worms food high in one macronutrient.
The digestive system of worms and enzymes involved in nutrient breakdown
Worms digestive system is highly specialized, the first step of digestion starts at the Worm's mouth. Once the worm opens it mouth, concurrently the pharynx opens up aswell. As the food travels down the pharynx the food goes down into the esophagus which …show more content…
Glycolysis is found within the preparatory catabolic pathway. It begins the breaking down and oxidation of glucose. “The glycolytic digestive enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of glycogen and starch, liberating dextrin, glucose, maltose and maltotriose in the digestive system”. Glycolytic breaks glucose down into pyruvic and lactic acid. The enzyme is essential to the earthworm's digestive system and process.
Proteolytic enzymes are used to help in the digestion of proteins. “Proteolytic enzymes are localized in the earthworms' alimentary canals”. They play an important role in worms alimentary digestion by breaking down proteins. Pepsin is the first proteolytic enzyme used in the breaking down of protein, it breaks down the dietary protein into denatured and partially hydrolyzed protein. From there trypsin is used to break down the protein to small peptides and amino acids.Lastly the intestine transports the amino acids into the bloodstream See figure 2.
Figure 2: Breaking Down protein.
Utilisation of nutrients in the human …show more content…
Sugar is a crucial source for energy. During digestion “ all food carbohydrates (starches and sugars) break down into single molecule sugars”. These sugars are then absorbed from the intestine which then travels into the bloodstream which takes it to the cells, where the sugars are used to provide energy for any cellular functions. If too much sugar is consumed it can lead to multiple symptoms known as classic metabolic syndrome. “These include weight gain, decreased high-density lipoprotein. (HDL) and increased low-density lipoprotein(LDL)”. This leads to an increase of fat deposits into the tissues. HDL is defined as “a class of lipoproteins of relatively low density, the main function of which is to transport cholesterol to the tissues”. LDL is defined as “a class of lipoproteins of relatively low density, the main function of which is to transport cholesterol to the tissues”.
Another macronutrient the worms were fed rice which is high in carbohydrates (). Carbohydrates are the body's main source of fuel offering 16.7 kj of energy per gram. As the carbohydrates came from rice which is high in starches rather than sugars. The body then breaks down the starches into glucose which gives the body energy. As the worms are having a high carbohydrate diet they will have an excess of calories which will lead to the glucose being deposited into tissue causing significant weight
The digestive system of worms and enzymes involved in nutrient breakdown
Worms digestive system is highly specialized, the first step of digestion starts at the Worm's mouth. Once the worm opens it mouth, concurrently the pharynx opens up aswell. As the food travels down the pharynx the food goes down into the esophagus which …show more content…
Glycolysis is found within the preparatory catabolic pathway. It begins the breaking down and oxidation of glucose. “The glycolytic digestive enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of glycogen and starch, liberating dextrin, glucose, maltose and maltotriose in the digestive system”. Glycolytic breaks glucose down into pyruvic and lactic acid. The enzyme is essential to the earthworm's digestive system and process.
Proteolytic enzymes are used to help in the digestion of proteins. “Proteolytic enzymes are localized in the earthworms' alimentary canals”. They play an important role in worms alimentary digestion by breaking down proteins. Pepsin is the first proteolytic enzyme used in the breaking down of protein, it breaks down the dietary protein into denatured and partially hydrolyzed protein. From there trypsin is used to break down the protein to small peptides and amino acids.Lastly the intestine transports the amino acids into the bloodstream See figure 2.
Figure 2: Breaking Down protein.
Utilisation of nutrients in the human …show more content…
Sugar is a crucial source for energy. During digestion “ all food carbohydrates (starches and sugars) break down into single molecule sugars”. These sugars are then absorbed from the intestine which then travels into the bloodstream which takes it to the cells, where the sugars are used to provide energy for any cellular functions. If too much sugar is consumed it can lead to multiple symptoms known as classic metabolic syndrome. “These include weight gain, decreased high-density lipoprotein. (HDL) and increased low-density lipoprotein(LDL)”. This leads to an increase of fat deposits into the tissues. HDL is defined as “a class of lipoproteins of relatively low density, the main function of which is to transport cholesterol to the tissues”. LDL is defined as “a class of lipoproteins of relatively low density, the main function of which is to transport cholesterol to the tissues”.
Another macronutrient the worms were fed rice which is high in carbohydrates (). Carbohydrates are the body's main source of fuel offering 16.7 kj of energy per gram. As the carbohydrates came from rice which is high in starches rather than sugars. The body then breaks down the starches into glucose which gives the body energy. As the worms are having a high carbohydrate diet they will have an excess of calories which will lead to the glucose being deposited into tissue causing significant weight