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Some animals, particularly ruminants and termites, can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms that live in their guts, such as Trichonympha. In human nutrition, cellulose is a non-digestible constituent of insoluble dietary fiber, acting as a hydrophilic bulking agent for feces and potentially aiding in defecation.
However, their ability to extract energy from cellulose digestion is less efficient than in ruminants. [2] Herbivores digest cellulose by microbial fermentation. Monogastric herbivores which can digest cellulose nearly as well as ruminants are called hindgut fermenters, while ruminants are called foregut fermenters. [3]
But there are a host of reasons why some foods need to be cooked before eating, and the fact that they can't be digested is just one of them. The most obvious food that needs to be cooked is meat.
Ribbon representation of the Streptomyces lividans β-1,4-endoglucanase catalytic domain - an example from the family 12 glycoside hydrolases [1]. Cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4; systematic name 4-β-D-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase) is any of several enzymes produced chiefly by fungi, bacteria, and protozoans that catalyze cellulolysis, the decomposition of cellulose and of some related polysaccharides:
She says humans lack the enzymes to break cellulose down, so it passes through the digestive system without being absorbed. Cellulose also counts as dietary fiber, though Messer says the amount ...
Humans lack the cellulases to digest the carbohydrate cellulose which is a beta-linked glucose polymer. Some of the preceding endogenous enzymes have pharmaceutical counterparts (pancreatic enzymes) that are administered to people with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
Cellulose is a polymer made with repeated glucose units bonded together by beta-linkages. Humans and many animals lack an enzyme to break the beta-linkages, so they do not digest cellulose. Certain animals, such as termites can digest cellulose, because bacteria possessing the enzyme are present in their gut. Cellulose is insoluble in water.
Since the 1970s, the U.S. has subsidized ethanol produced from food crops, especially from corn, thus providing a homegrown, alternative fuel source for our automobiles. But for multiple reasons ...