Which one of the following statements regarding digestion is correct?

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Fat present in the food is digested by trypsin and chymotrypsin.

Starch of food is digested by lipases.

Fat of food is digested by lipases.

Nucleic acid is digested by amylases.

Answer is Right!

Answer is Wrong!

This question was previously asked in

UPSC CAPF – 2018

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Digestion involves enzymatic breakdown of macromolecules in food. Different types of enzymes are specific for different types of molecules. Fats (lipids, primarily triglycerides) are digested by enzymes called lipases. For example, pancreatic lipase is the main enzyme responsible for fat digestion in the small intestine, breaking triglycerides down into fatty acids and glycerol.
Let’s examine the other options:
A) Trypsin and chymotrypsin are proteases, enzymes that digest proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids. They do not digest fats.
B) Starch is a complex carbohydrate. Carbohydrates like starch are digested by amylases (e.g., salivary amylase, pancreatic amylase) into smaller sugars. Lipases digest fats.
D) Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are digested by nucleases into nucleotides. Amylases digest carbohydrates.
Thus, the correct statement is that fat of food is digested by lipases.

Specific enzymes are required to digest different classes of macromolecules: Lipases for fats, Amylases for carbohydrates (like starch), Proteases for proteins, and Nucleases for nucleic acids.

Bile salts, produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, are also important for fat digestion. They emulsify large fat globules into smaller droplets, increasing the surface area available for lipases to act upon.

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