What is bolus in biology?

A bolus, means "ball" in Latin, is a mixture of food and saliva that develops in the mouth during the chewing process and is used for digestion .Its colour is the same as the food being consumed, and saliva contributes to its alkaline pH.The bolus normally goes down the oesophagus to the stomach for digestion after being swallowed.

Mastication, or chewing, is the first stage of digestion. During this stage, food is broken down, lubricated with saliva, and moulded into a cohesive mass called the food bolus. The bolus travels to the stomach after swallowing and is further broken down during gastric digestion. The creation of the food bolus and its subsequent digestion in the stomach are the focus of this review. Numerous studies have been conducted on bolus development, particularly with regard to lubrication and food particle size.

Although there is little information on bolus disintegration, this review concentrates on how bread and other starch-based foods break down. In the entire digestive process, bolus formation and breakdown are crucial phases because they regulate the rate at which ingested food components and nutrients are absorbed and released into the body. In order to obtain a quantitative understanding of the food digestion process, information on the rate kinetics of bolus disintegration is required.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. What is chyme and bolus?

Ans. Chyme is the liquified portion of what travels from the stomach and into the small intestine, whereas a bolus is a soft, spherical food that has been chewed and is subsequently swallowed to make its way to the stomach.Its colour is the same as the food being consumed, and saliva contributes to its alkaline pH.The bolus normally goes down the oesophagus to the stomach for digestion after being swallowed.