Why is it important for the pancreas to Release bicarbonate into the small intestine?

One Comment

1. Merlin's Feline says:

   September 9, 2009 at 9:26 am

   The partially digested food coming from the stomach is at a pH of 4-5. The pancreas releases bicarbonate to raise the pH to 7.4 – 7.8 or so so that the serine proteases like trypsin and chymotrypsin can function ( their pH optimum is ~ 7.5-8 ) to digest dietary proteins. Also pancreatic lipase and amylase have pH optima above 7. The small intestine has projections ( villi ) into the lumen of the intestine that are covered with smaller still projections called microvilli. These areas are rich in absorptive cells called enterocytes and because of the very large surface area of the villi/microvilli the mass transfer is highly efficient. This allows rapid uptake of nutrients following digestion…In diseases like celiac or sprue..the villi are not developed or have been destroyed and thus nutrient absorption is greatly compromised