The undigested food in terms of polysaccharides, starch and glycogen and disaccharides, sucrose & lactose (got from diet), maltose (produced from digestive action of salivary amylase on polysaccharides or those got directly as a food source) are acted upon by the carbohydrates of the pancreas and intestinal juice in the lumen of the intestine.
(i) The polysaccharides starch (plant source) and glycogen (animal source) are acted upon by the pancreatic amylase (or amylopsin) splitting them into a pool of maltose, a disaccharide.
(ii) The final pool of disaccharides produced by the action of polysaccharides (Pancreatic and salivary amylases) or those obtained directly through diet are acted upon by the di- saccharases Sucrase, Lactase and Maltase (disaccharide splitting enzymes) of the intestinal juice in the intestinal lumen as follows, (a) Sucrose (s) are acted upon by sucrase enzyme and split into a molecule of glucose and a moecule of Fructose each.
(b) Maltose (s) are acted upon by Maltase -enzyme and split into two glucose molecules each.
(c) Lactose (s) are acted upon by Lactase enzyme and split into a molecule of glucose and galactose
Finally resulting in an absorbable pool of monosaccharides in the intestinal lumen.
