All herbivorus animals have enzyme called 'Cellulase', which digests the cellulose present in plants they eat. But we lack that enzyme, but even then we can digest the RAW FRUITS & VEGETABLES we eat. How is that possible? Does the remaining nutrients get digested and the left over cellulose is thrown out intact? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
More or less, to my understanding. It's also known as fiber in this regard. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
as far as my knowledge goes cellulose isn't present in fruits..it's as TFL said a harder fiber used to support and enforce plants .. but i think people USED to digest it..(cavemen)..that's one of the explenations for us having a cecum..
strangly enough..you're right..but i'm sure humans can't digest it..i guess it's just used as fiber instead of totally breaking it down..
Remarks like this is what makes you annoying. Humans cannot digest cellulose (or very poorly) because they don't produce cellulases. Edit: To be more precise, humans lack the symbiotic bacteria that produce cellulases to help break down cellulose.
Precisely. No mammals produce cellulases, however certain other animals (as e.g. certain insects and mollusks) possess one. However, certain gut bacteria also found in humans are actually able to degrade cellulose but generally the amount appears to be too low to be significant.
Not only would we need cellulase but we would need multiple stomachs for the preprocessing of cellulose just so that the cellulases can do their works with high enough throughput to power our bodies, and even then we may need to live like sloths to reduce energy consumption.
lol, i didn't mean to offend you..only i was sure it was otherwise and research to find it's true, that's all then what about #4?? is it really left and used as fiber?
you totally reminded me of cows..with their 5 stomachs...and digesting mechanism.. and cows are mammals(?) does that mean they digest it?
Ok fair enough. Yep. It aids the smooth working of our intestines. It prevents constipation for example. To evolve the ability to digest cellulose now would probably not be very beneficial Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Yes, although indirectly. The way I understand it is that in cows and other animals like them (including hippos, camels, sheep, deer, giraffe, and maybe even whales) cellulose is digested by bacteria in one of the stomachs, then the bacteria themselves are digested a little further on. Horses, elephants, rhinos, and pigs also digest cellulose through bacteria, but in a different way and not as efficiently. I think termites digest wood (which is mostly cellulose) also via gut bacteria.
they use bacteria to do it, and yes there body is pretty much dedicated to mulching cellulose so the bacteria can do their job, and they eat copious amounts to break even.
satisfaction no problem scifes. i think im satisfied with the point that cellulose is used as fiber.. for many puposes..Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
no problem scifes. i think im satisfied with the point that cellulose is used as fiber.. for many puposes..Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
yippee! so i'm not the only one having posting problems..Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
What I am wondering is how much of an impedance is cellulose to assimilation of nutrients. I know it probably depends on the food.
Vegetables, cellulose, and nutrient absorption! http://fernsfronds.blogspot.com/2009/04/nutrition-note-cooking-carrots.html From http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/nutrition.html
Cetaceans are indeed artiodactyls. Based upon DNA analysis they were recently discovered to be descended from primitive hippopotamuses. Cetacea was demoted from an order to a suborder of Artiodactyla. However, all whales and dolphins are carnivores. The artiodactyl digestive system, supremely adapted for the digestion of cellulose, has evolved completely into a carnivorous digestive system. The baleen whales filter krill (tiny crustaceans) while the toothed whales (sperm whales and dolphins) are predators who hunt fish, or, in the case of the orca, other mammals and perhaps aquatic birds. This is an example of how easily two closely related animals can have entirely different diets: the hippopotamus grazes, the porpoise fishes. I brought this up on the thread about eating meat: gorillas are herbivores who can get their calories from cellulose; humans aren't and can't.
Interestingly and unlike other carnivores, cetaceans do have a forestomach with a fermentation role in digestion like ruminants.