peptide bonds
The digestion of carbohydrates begins in the mouth as -amylase breaks glycosidic linkages in carbohydrate molecules. Essentially no carbohydrate digestion occurs in the stomach, and food particles pass through to the small intestine, where -amylase and intestinal enzymes convert complex carbohydrate molecules starches to monosaccharides. The monosaccharides then pass through the lining of the small intestine and into the bloodstream for transport to all body cells. Protein digestion begins in the stomach as pepsinogen in gastric juice is converted to pepsin, the enzyme that hydrolyzes peptide bonds. The partially digested protein then passes to the small intestine, where the remainder of protein digestion takes place through the action of several enzymes. The resulting amino acids cross the intestinal wall into the blood and are carried to the liver. Lipid digestion begins in the small intestine. Bile salts emulsify the lipid molecules, and then lipases hydrolyze them to fatty acids and monoglycerides. The hydrolysis products pass through the intestine and are repackaged for transport in the bloodstream. In cells that are operating aerobically, acetyl-CoA produced in stage II of catabolism is oxidized to carbon dioxide. The citric acid cycle describes this oxidation, which takes place with the formation of the coenzymes reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide NADH and reduced flavin adenine dinucleotide FADH2 . The sequence of reactions needed to oxidize these coenzymes and transfer the resulting electrons to oxygen is called the electron transport chain, or the respiratory chain. The compounds responsible for this series of oxidation-reduction reactions include proteins known ascytochromes, FeS proteins, and other molecules that ultimately result in the reduction of molecular oxygen to water. Every time a compound with two carbon atoms is oxidized in the citric acid cycle, a respiratory chain compound accepts the electrons lost in the oxidation and so is reduced and then passes them on to the next metabolite in the chain. The energy released by the electron transport chain is used to transport hydrogen H+ ions from the mitochondrial matrix to the intermembrane space. The flow of H+ back through ATP synthase leads to the synthesis and release of ATP from adenosine diphosphate ADP and inorganic phosphate ions Pi in a process known Saylor URL: http://www. saylor. org/books.