NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Lactose must be broken down into glucose and galactose prior to absorption of the resultant monosaccharides (Figure 1) (Heyman, 2006). Figure 1. Ingested lactose encounters the lactase enzyme on the brush border of the small intestine. The enzyme breaks down lactose into its monosaccharides, glucose, and galactose.

Detailed explanation-2: -Normally, when we eat something containing lactose, an enzyme in the small intestine called lactase breaks it down into simpler sugar forms called glucose and galactose.

Detailed explanation-3: -Lactase breaks down lactose into the monosaccharides galactose and glucose, which makes them available for absorption. Glucose ultimately gets taken up by our cells with the help of insulin. Galactose is transported to the liver, where it is turned into glucose for use in energy production.

Detailed explanation-4: -When we eat carbohydrates, our body has to digest them for energy. The process of digestion is called hydrolysis. In hydrolysis, these long sugar chains (polymers) are broken down into the individual sugars (monomers) that make them up. The general formula for hydrolysis is: Polymer + Water ⇌ Monomer + Monomer.

Detailed explanation-5: -Hence the product obtained by hydrolysis of lactose is -D galactose and -D glucose.