Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Chemical Engineering

Abstract

Excess postprandial glucose remains a significant metabolic concern, particularly for individuals with impaired glucose regulation. In the proximal small intestine (PSI), dietary oligosaccharides are enzymatically hydrolyzed to glucose, which is subsequently absorbed into the bloodstream. However, direct measurement of these coupled digestion-absorption processes in vivo is limited, making in silico mechanistic modeling a practical approach for analyzing system behavior under controlled conditions.

In this work, a time-dependent compartmental model was developed to describe oligosaccharide/starch hydrolysis and glucose absorption in the PSI. The intestine is represented as a series of continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) segments, where each segment captured temporal concentration changes, and inter-segment flow represented forward transport. As opposed to past works, the formulation did not assume tubular or plug-flow behavior; instead, spatial trends emerged implicitly through the sequence of compartments.

Three complementary models were proposed. With kinetic parameters from literature data, Model 1 assumed steady continuous inflow and provided an idealized baseline for evaluating species concentration evolution along the intestine. Model 2 introduced pulsatile inflow to represent intermittent gastric emptying, producing transient concentration spikes. Model 3 served as the primary framework and incorporated Michaelis-Menten kinetics for glucose formation and absorption, with intermittent gastric emptying representing average physiological inflow. A sub-model (Model 3A) further resolved the pathway from oligosaccharides to maltose and ultimately glucose, allowing intermediate species to be examined.

The simulation results showed that oligosaccharides were rapidly hydrolyzed in proximal segments, with intermediates appearing transiently before conversion to glucose. Glucose accumulation was limited due to efficient absorption, resulting in low concentrations in distal segments. Gastric emptying patterns strongly influenced glucose profiles, as pulsatile inflow produced sharp concentration peaks, whereas continuous inflow generated smoother distributions. Across all models, hydrolysis occurred predominantly in proximal regions, while absorption dominated glucose removal.

Overall, the developed modeling framework provided a mechanistic and interpretable approach for analyzing carbohydrate digestion in the proximal small intestine. The findings demonstrated the importance of gastric emptying patterns and rapid glucose absorption in shaping concentration profiles, while also providing a practical platform for studying digestion behavior, testing hypotheses, and supporting future strategies for glucose optimization and metabolic disease management.

Index Terms - Carbohydrate digestion, compartmental modeling, gastric emptying dynamics, glucose absorption kinetics, proximal small intestine.

Committee Chair/Advisor

Kazeem Olanrewaju

Committee Member

Irvin W. Osborne-Lee

Committee Member

Emmanuel Dada

Committee Member

Michael Gyamerah

Rights

© 2021 Prairie View A & M University

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Date of Digitization

6/15/2026

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

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