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Humans lack the necessary enzymes to efficiently break down cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls, into digestible sugars. Our digestive system is not equipped to process cellulose as effectively as herbivores like cows or termites, which have specialized gut bacteria to help digest cellulose.

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1y ago

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How do you use the word cellulose in a sentence?

The only weakness these creatures had was their inability to digest cellulose.


How do plants use cellulose?

Plants use cellulose as a structural component in their cell walls, providing rigidity and support to their cells. Cellulose also helps regulate the movement of water and nutrients within the plant. Additionally, cellulose serves as a source of energy when broken down by certain organisms.


How can we eat vegetables if we don't have cellulase?

Humans lack the enzyme cellulase needed to break down cellulose in vegetables. However, our digestive system can still extract nutrients from vegetables through the actions of gut bacteria and our own digestive enzymes. Cooking vegetables can also help break down cellulose and make the nutrients more accessible for absorption.


What are the two polysaccharides found in plants?

The two main polysaccharides found in plants are cellulose and starch. Cellulose is the structural component of plant cell walls, providing rigidity and support. Starch is a storage form of energy that plants use for growth and metabolism.


How can humans impact or alter the Nitrogen cycle What effects will this have?

Humans can impact the nitrogen cycle through activities like excessive fertilizer use, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation, which can lead to an increase in nitrogen in the environment. This can cause issues such as water pollution, algal blooms, and a decrease in biodiversity due to changes in soil nutrient levels.

Related Questions

What polysaccharide cannot be digested by humans?

Cellulose is a polysaccharide that cannot be digested by humans due to the lack of necessary enzyme, cellulase, in our digestive system. It passes through the gastrointestinal tract intact and provides bulk to aid in digestion and promote overall gut health.


Why are humans not able to use cellulose for energy?

Humans lack the necessary enzymes to break down cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls, into glucose, which can then be used for energy. Unlike herbivores like cows and sheep, humans cannot digest cellulose efficiently due to the lack of cellulase enzymes in their digestive system.


How do you break down cellulose in grass to make it eatable?

Cellulose in grass can be broken down by ruminant animals such as cows, sheep, and goats that have specialized stomachs with microbes that produce enzymes to digest cellulose. The microbes ferment the cellulose into simpler compounds that the animal can absorb and use for energy. Humans, however, cannot digest cellulose as efficiently due to the lack of these specialized enzymes.


How is cellulose the material cell walls are made use of by humans?

In making synthetic fiber


What nutrients are found in a peanut shell?

Peanut shells lack nutrients that humans can use. They are mostly cellulose. Some organisms can break down cellulose into sugars.


Why cellulose is no use to us as a nutrient?

Because we don't have any enzymes like lipase or proteas to break down the grass molecule so it can be digested


Can you activate 'Nutrient Z' if you attack with a monster with 0atk against your opponent's 2000atk monster?

No, Nutrient Z can only be activated in the Opponent's damage step. You cannot use it in your own turn, so cannot use it if your monster is attacking.


Plants developed cellulose for?

plants use cellulose as a way to keep the stem sturdy


What resources do humans use that causes climate change?

None. Despite what you may hear, humans do not and likely cannot change climate.


How do horses break down cellulose?

Horses break down cellulose by use of enzyme cellulase.


Why do animals do not digest cellulose?

Humans are unable to get metabolic energy from cellulose because they lack the enzymes necessary to chemically break it down. Since the human body can't properly digest cellulose, it's passed in the feces.


What makes chitin edible?

Chitin is a polysaccharide (a polymer of certain types of sugar), and, in this case, is often used to form the exoskeletons of arthropods (such as insects and crustaceans). However, as with cellulose, humans do not possess the enzymes necessary to breakdown these polysaccharides. Thus, chitin and cellulose cannot be broken down by humans.