Abstract Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for vision and life of humans because it is converted to the visual chromophore, 11- cis -retinal, and to the hormone, retinoic acid….
Abstract Control of food intake and body weight involves multiple pathways and body systems. Recent evidence, in part from the effectiveness of bariatric surgical procedures in treatment of obesity and…
Abstract The pancreatic acinar cell synthesizes, stores, and secretes the enzymes and enzyme precursors required for the digestion of dietary proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. To meet the daily needs for…
Abstract Dietary proteins undergo luminal digestion by gastric and pancreatic proteases and then membrane digestion by peptidases associated with the brush border membrane of enterocytes. The end products of this…
Abstract Vitamin E (VE) is the generic term for eight naturally occurring molecules, four tocopherols, and four tocotrienols, exhibiting the biological activity of α-tocopherol. Its dietary intake has been associated…
Abstract Cholangiocytes are epithelial cells that line the network of interconnecting intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. The main physiologic function of cholangiocytes is the modification of the bile within the…
Abstract The lipid-soluble Vitamin K plays an essential role in facilitating blood coagulation by activating clotting factors; it also plays a role in signal transduction, cell proliferation, and in bone…
Abstract Intestinal lipid absorption is an efficient and highly complex process. Here we review the main pathways involved in intestinal processing of dietary lipid. We discuss the regulation of enterocyte…
Abstract Saliva coats the surfaces of the mouth, providing a protective, lubricious layer that maintains homeostasis of the oral environment. Salivary glands in humans and other mammals consist of three…
Abstract The transport functions of epithelial cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and elsewhere, are made possible by their remarkable apical-basolateral plasma membrane asymmetry. This property, commonly called membrane polarity,…
