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Can human digest cellulose?? Do human have any special enzyme that can digest cellulose??

Can human digest cellulose?? Do human have any special enzyme that can digest cellulose?? 

Grade:12th pass

2 Answers

Saurabh Koranglekar
askIITians Faculty 10335 Points
4 years ago
Dear student
Humans, unlike cows for ex. don't have the necessary bacteria in their intestines that make the enzymes(cellulases) necessary to breakdown the 1-4 beta glucose bonds. So we cannot break down cellulose into its constituent glucose molecules as we do with starch

Regards
Arun
25757 Points
4 years ago
Animals like cows and pigs can digest cellulose thanks to symbiotic bacteria in their digestive tracts, but humans can't. It's important in our diets as source of fiber, in that it binds together waste in our digestive tracts

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