Abstract
Significant advances have been made in the study of the small bowel. Part I of this two-part review of the small bowel examines carbohydrates, including brush border membrane hydrolysis and sugar transport; amino acids, dipeptides, proteins and food allergy, with a focus on glutamine, peptides and macromolecules, and nucleosides, nucleotides and polyamines; salt and water absorption, and diarrhea, including antidiarrheal therapy and oral rehydration treatment; lipids (digestion and absorption, fatty acid binding proteins, intracellular metabolism, lipoproteins and bile acids); and metals (eg, iron) and vitamins.