Unit NUTRITIONAL BIOCHEMISTRY
- Course
- Human feeding and nutrition sciences
- Study-unit Code
- 50004201
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Michela Codini
- Teachers
-
- Michela Codini
- Hours
- 64 ore - Michela Codini
- CFU
- 8
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2023
- Offered
- 2023/24
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Discipline biomediche
- Academic discipline
- BIO/10
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Nutrition in the body's context. Nutrition and metabolic use of
carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. Hormonal control of food intake - Reference texts
- G. Arienti. Le basi molecolari della Nutrizione". Piccin.
- Educational objectives
- The main aims of Nutrition Biochemistry are to provide students with the
bases to understand:
- how food, and nutrients are digested, absorbed and processed from a
metabolic point of view;
- the hormonal and nervous regulation of the above processes;
- the regulation of hunger and satiety;
- the metabolic interrelationships between tissues and organs.
The main skills (ie the ability to apply the acquired knowledge) will be:
- to analyze the metabolic destiny of nutrients that make up a meal
- to identify, from a metabolic point of view, the possible nutritional
deficiencies of an unbalanced diete
- to be able to correct any metabolic imbalances through the diet. - Prerequisites
- In order to understand and know how to apply the notions of
Biochemistry of Nutrition, students must have successfully passed the
General Biochemistry and General Physiology exams. This prerequisite is
valid both for attending and non-attending students. - Teaching methods
- Lectures on all subjects of the course.
- Other information
- Frequency is recommended.
- Learning verification modality
- Student assessment is done by oral examination.
The oral test consists of a discussion of about 30 minutes aimed at
ascertain the knowledge level and the understanding capability acquired
by the student on theoretical contents as indicated on the program. The
oral exam will also test the student communication skills and his
autonomy in the organization and exposure of the theoretical topics. - Extended program
- NTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE: Definitions of food, nutrient, , plastic
nutrient and energy nutrient. Measurement of energy content of foods:
the calorimetric bomb. Direct calorimetry and indirect calorimetry.
Spirometry. The respiratory quotient. Basal metabolism. Calculation of
basal metabolism. Induced thermogenesis. Physical activity levels.
Calculation of the total daily energy requirement.
GLYCIDE: structure. Digestion and absorption. Glucose phosphorylation;
esochinases.
Glycolysis. The fate of pyruvate in the absence of oxygen (lactate
reduction) and in the presence of oxygen (oxidative decarboxylation).
Cytosolic NADH fate: shuttles.
The path of pentose phosphates. Fructose and galactose metabolism.
Glycogen metabolism and its regulation: glycogenolysis and glycogen
synthesis.
Neoglucogenesis. Hormonal adjustment of blood glucose: insulin and
glucagon. Consequences of high blood glucose: formation of polyols and
ages.
The glycemic index and the glycemic load.
LIPIDES: structure and function. Digestion and absorption: lipoproteins.
Oxidation of even and odd number carbon fatty acids. Oxidation of mono
and unsaturated fatty acids. Fatty acid oxidation regulation.
Ketone bodies: structure, synthesis and metabolism.
Fatty acid biosynthesis and its regulation.
Cholesterol biosynthesis and its regulation. Cholesterol Catabolism.
Ethanol metabolism.
Hormones regulating lipid metabolism: leptin and adiponectin.
Gene regulation of lipid metabolism.
PROTEINS: generality. Digestion and absorption. Protein turnover. Amino
acids: structure. The peptide bond. Nutritional amino acids: essential and
non-essential. Metabolic-based amino acids: glucogenic amino acids and
genetic cheom.
The amino acid catabolism: ammonia toxicity and transamination
reactions. The urea cycle.
The fate of the charcoal skeletons. Molecules derived from amino acids:
thyroid hormones, neurotransmitters: catecholamines, GABA, serotonin,
melatonin, niacin. Tyramine. Purine and pyrimidine bases.
TERMINAL METABOLISM: the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
CONTROL OF ENERGY METABOLISM: Definitions of appetite and hunger.
Short-term regulation of food behavior: signs of hunger and satiety of the
ghrelin, cholecystokinin. The hypothesis theory: leptin. The role of the
hypothalamus: the arched nucleus, the ventromedial and paraventricular
nuclei. The lateral core.
Oressigen signs: NPY, MCH, endocannabinoids, endogenous opioids
Anorexigenic signals: pro-opiomelacortin (POMC), Melanocyte stimulating
hormone (a-MSH), Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH)
Neurotransmitters involved in food control: dopamine, serotonin, GABA,
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