He pancreatic juice Is a clear liquid secreted by the pancreas composed mainly of water, electrolytes and enzymes.
The pancreas plays an important role in the digestion of food and it is the enzymes found in pancreatic juice that allow the body to break down carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Pancreatic juice composition
Pancreatic juice is composed of: water, mineral salts, enzymes, amylase, lipase, inactive enzyme precursors, trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen and procarboxypeptidase.
The alkaline nature of pancreatic juice is attributed to the presence of bicarbonate ions, which are alkaline in solution.
Pancreatic enzymes
The pancreas creates natural juices called pancreatic enzymes to break down food. These juices travel through the pancreas through ducts, and empty into the duodenum. Each day, the pancreas produces about 200 ml of digestive juice filled with enzymes. These are:
Lipase
This enzyme works together with bile, which produces the liver, to break down fat. If you do not have enough lipase, your body will experience problems absorbing fat and important liposoluble vitamins (A, D, E, K). Symptoms of bad fat absorption include diarrhea And fatty bowel movements.
Protease
This enzyme breaks down the proteins we ingest. It also helps protect us from germs that can live in the intestines, such as certain bacteria and yeast. Undigested proteins can cause allergic reactions in some people.
Amylase
This enzyme helps to break down starches into sugar, which the body can use for energy. An insufficiency of amylase may cause undigested carbohydrate diarrhea.
Pancreatic hormones
Many groups of Cells Produce hormones inside the pancreas. Unlike enzymes that are released into the digestive system, hormones are released into the blood and carry messages to other parts of the digestive system. Pancreatic hormones include:
Insulin
This hormone is produced in the cells of the pancreas known as beta cells. Beta cells make up about 75% of pancreatic hormone cells.
Insulin is the hormone that helps the body use sugar as energy. Without enough insulin, blood sugar levels rise and diabetes develops.
Glucagon
Alpha cells represent about 20% of pancreatic cells that produce hormones, which produce glucagon. If the blood sugar level is too low, glucagon helps increase it by sending a message to the liver to release the stored sugar.
Gastrin and amylin
Gastrin occurs mainly in G cells in the stomach, but it also occurs in the pancreas and its function is to stimulate the stomach to produce gastric acid. Amylin is produced in beta cells and helps control the appetite and emptying of the stomach.
Functions of pancreatic juice
1- Protein digestion
The enteropeptidase converts the trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen into the active proteolytic enzymes trypsin and chymotrypsin, which convert the polypeptides into tripeptides, dipeptides and amino acids.
Digestion of carbohydrates
Pancreatic amylase helps in the conversion of digestible polysaccharides - starch - by salivary amylase to disaccharides.
Digestion of fats
Bile salts help lipase in the conversion of fats into Acids Fatty acids and glycerol.
What is the pancreas?
The pancreas is a spongy organ, shaped like a tube, about 15 centimeters long. It is located in the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach and connected to the duodenum.
The pancreas is a vital digestive organ because it produces a variety of enzymes that break down all major food groups.
These enzymes are secreted in the duodenum along with a high concentration of bicarbonate. Bicarbonate causes pancreatic secretions to be alkaline in nature.
The pancreas produces pancreatic juices and hormones. Pancreatic juices contain enzymes that help digest food in the small intestine.
Among the hormones made by the pancreas is insulin, which controls the amount of sugar in the blood. Both enzymes and hormones are necessary for the proper functioning of the body.
This flow of alkaline fluid in the small intestine helps to neutralize the acid chyme that comes from the stomach.
Chyme is the mass of partially digested food that has just come out of the stomach. Neutralizing the acidic chyme provides a better environment for the activation of pancreatic enzymes.
Once produced, the pancreatic juices flow into the main pancreatic duct. This duct connects to the bile duct, which connects the pancreas to the liver and gallbladder.
The common bile duct, which carries bile (a fluid that helps digest fat), connects to the small intestine through an opening called a blister in the duodenum near the stomach.
Functions of the Pancreas
A healthy pancreas produces the correct chemicals in the right amounts, at the right times, to digest the food we eat.
Exocrine function
The pancreas contains Exocrine glands Which produce enzymes important for digestion. These enzymes include: trypsin and chymotrypsin to digest proteins; Amylase for the digestion of carbohydrates; And lipase to break down fats.
When food enters the stomach, these pancreatic juices are released into a duct system that culminates in the main pancreatic duct.
The pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct to form the Vater ampulla (or major duodenal papilla) found in the first portion of the small intestine called the duodenum.
The common bile duct originates in the liver and gallbladder and produces another important digestive juice called bile. The pancreatic juices and bile that are released into the duodenum, help the body digest fats, carbohydrates and proteins.
Endocrine Function
The endocrine component of the pancreas consists of islet cells (called islets of Langerhans or pancreatic islets) that create and release important hormones directly into the bloodstream.
Two of the major pancreatic hormones are insulin, which acts to lower blood sugar, and glucagon, which acts to raise blood sugar.
Maintaining adequate blood sugar levels is crucial for the functioning of key organs such as brain , Liver and kidneys.
References
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