How is sucrose digested?
Sucrose, or table sugar, is a combination of two sugar molecules or monosaccharides–glucose and fructose. Digestion is the chemical and mechanical breakdown of food into nutrients. Before digestion can happen, liver enzymes separate complex disaccharides like sucrose into simpler sugars.Human DigestionThe food you eat moves from the mouth to the stomach and into the small intestine. It then moves on to the large intestine, reabsorbing water and storing food unable to pass through the villi (small, finger-like structures).MouthDigestion begins in the mouth as saliva containing the enzyme amylase breaks down complex carbohydrates into simpler sugars such as sucrose.StomachOnce in the stomach, digestive fluid containing hydrochloric acid and other enzymes further breaks down food. Sucrose, however, remains intact until entering the small intestine.Small IntestineAmylase secreted by the pancreas in the small intestine breaks down carbohydrates into sucrose, maltose and lactose. Once in th
