Question

Are there differences in how carbohydrates absorbed, including difference in locations within the gastrointestinal tract? Explain.

Answer 1

Absorption of the carbohydrates in the GI tract happens as follows:

the comparative rate of monosaccharides considering glucose as 100 can be indicated as Galactose(110), glucose(100), fructose(53), mannose(39), xylose(15)

Glucose and the galactose generally absorbed in the faster rate then fructose, while the pentose is slowly absorbed.

this difference is due to that the glucose and the galactose are actively transported while fructose, mannose and pentose get absorbed due to the diffusion.

The monosaccharide is generally absorbed in the mucosal cells of small intestine and pass into the circulation via the portal vein. out of this, a very small amount may be absorbed by the lymph, here the microvilli lining the mucosa cells greatly help the absorption because it increases the surface area.

The rate of absorption of the monosaccharides is independent of blood sugar concentration.

As we also see that major part of the carbohydrates gets absorbed into the blood through the small intestine while the remaining part after further breaking down, gets absorbed to the liver and another part through the large intestine.