Nutrition in
Animals
Introduction
Meaning of Nutrition;
Nutrition:Is the process by which an
organism takes in and uses nutrients.
Or , Nutrition is the process by which
living things feed on materials from
environment.
It also includes the study of relationship
between diet (nutrition intake), health and
disease.It involves all the processes by
which nutrients are ingested, digested,
absorbed and later converted into the
body’s organic compounds and energy.
The food an organism eat is broken down
into smaller molecules that later serve as
source of energy, building blocks for
growth, maintenance and repair.These
building blocks are called Nutrients.
,Nutrient:Is a substance needed by the body of
an organism for growth, repair and maintenance
and as a source of energy.
Types of Nutrients.
°There are two types of Nutrients in animal
nutrition, which are:-
Macronutrients
Micronutrients
By definition;
★Macronutrients:Are nutrients which are
needed or required in large amount.Suck
nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates and
lipids.On the other hand,
★Micronutrients:Are nutrients which are
required by the animal body in small
amount.Such nutrients includes vitamins and
minerals.
Note:-
The people who study nutrition are called
nutritionist and dieticians.They advise people
2
,on how nutrition affects their health and well-
being.
TYPES OF NUTRITION .
There are two main types of Nutrition, which
are;
Autotrophic nutrition
Heterotrophic nutrition
★Autotrophic Nutrition:Is the process by
which organisms manufacture their own food
from simple inorganic substances like carbon
and hydrogen using either light energy
(photosynthesis) or chemical energy
(chemosynthesis). Or autotrophic nutrition,is
the type of Nutrition, organisms acquire energy
from sunlight and utilize it to synthesize their
own food using carbon dioxide (CO2) obtained
from the atmosphere.
The organisms that are capable
of utilizing sunlight or chemical energy to make
their own food from simple inorganic materials
3
, are refered to as autotrophs, which are literally
mean self-feeders.
Autotrophs such as plants, cyanobacteria,
algae, purple non-sulphur bacteria, and green
sulphur bacteria use sunlight energy and
chemical energy to manufacture their own
food.these are collectively called
photoautotrophs, which is a combination of
three Greek words: photos, auto and trophys
meaning ‘light’, ‘self’, and ‘nourishment or
feeders ‘ respectively.Therefore the term
photoautotroph literally refers to an organism
capable of manufacturing it’s own food using
light energy.In additional, photoautotrophs such
as plants, cyanobacteria, and algae contain
green pigments such as chlorophyll ‘a’, ‘b’ and
‘carotenoid’.These pigments are important in
absorbing light energy which is vital in the
synthesis of food in plant by the process known
as photosynthesis.
Besides light, inorganic chemicals are the
alternative sources of energy for the synthesis
of food. Energy from such chemicals is normally
acquired by these organisms through oxidation
reactions. For example, Iron bacteria called
ferrobacillus obtain their energy by oxidizing
ferrous to ferric ion, sulphur bacteria called
4
Animals
Introduction
Meaning of Nutrition;
Nutrition:Is the process by which an
organism takes in and uses nutrients.
Or , Nutrition is the process by which
living things feed on materials from
environment.
It also includes the study of relationship
between diet (nutrition intake), health and
disease.It involves all the processes by
which nutrients are ingested, digested,
absorbed and later converted into the
body’s organic compounds and energy.
The food an organism eat is broken down
into smaller molecules that later serve as
source of energy, building blocks for
growth, maintenance and repair.These
building blocks are called Nutrients.
,Nutrient:Is a substance needed by the body of
an organism for growth, repair and maintenance
and as a source of energy.
Types of Nutrients.
°There are two types of Nutrients in animal
nutrition, which are:-
Macronutrients
Micronutrients
By definition;
★Macronutrients:Are nutrients which are
needed or required in large amount.Suck
nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates and
lipids.On the other hand,
★Micronutrients:Are nutrients which are
required by the animal body in small
amount.Such nutrients includes vitamins and
minerals.
Note:-
The people who study nutrition are called
nutritionist and dieticians.They advise people
2
,on how nutrition affects their health and well-
being.
TYPES OF NUTRITION .
There are two main types of Nutrition, which
are;
Autotrophic nutrition
Heterotrophic nutrition
★Autotrophic Nutrition:Is the process by
which organisms manufacture their own food
from simple inorganic substances like carbon
and hydrogen using either light energy
(photosynthesis) or chemical energy
(chemosynthesis). Or autotrophic nutrition,is
the type of Nutrition, organisms acquire energy
from sunlight and utilize it to synthesize their
own food using carbon dioxide (CO2) obtained
from the atmosphere.
The organisms that are capable
of utilizing sunlight or chemical energy to make
their own food from simple inorganic materials
3
, are refered to as autotrophs, which are literally
mean self-feeders.
Autotrophs such as plants, cyanobacteria,
algae, purple non-sulphur bacteria, and green
sulphur bacteria use sunlight energy and
chemical energy to manufacture their own
food.these are collectively called
photoautotrophs, which is a combination of
three Greek words: photos, auto and trophys
meaning ‘light’, ‘self’, and ‘nourishment or
feeders ‘ respectively.Therefore the term
photoautotroph literally refers to an organism
capable of manufacturing it’s own food using
light energy.In additional, photoautotrophs such
as plants, cyanobacteria, and algae contain
green pigments such as chlorophyll ‘a’, ‘b’ and
‘carotenoid’.These pigments are important in
absorbing light energy which is vital in the
synthesis of food in plant by the process known
as photosynthesis.
Besides light, inorganic chemicals are the
alternative sources of energy for the synthesis
of food. Energy from such chemicals is normally
acquired by these organisms through oxidation
reactions. For example, Iron bacteria called
ferrobacillus obtain their energy by oxidizing
ferrous to ferric ion, sulphur bacteria called
4
