Living organisms are constantly undergoing chemical reactions that result in energy changes in their bodies. All of these reactions and changes are called metabolism. Metabolism essentially consists of two processes, the synthesis or construction of complex body substances from simpler components and energy and the breakdown or breakdown of these complex substances and energy. The first process is known as anabolism and the second as catabolism.
One of the main characteristics of living organisms is the ability to feed themselves. This is called nutrition. Nutrition, therefore, is the process of obtaining energy and materials for cellular metabolism, including cell maintenance and repair and growth. In living organisms, nutrition is a complex series of both anabolic and catabolic processes by which food materials taken into the body are converted into complex bodily substances (mainly for growth) and energy (for work). In animals, the nutrients they eat are usually in the form of complex, insoluble compounds. These are broken down into simpler compounds that can be taken up by the cells. In plants, complex nutrients are first synthesized by the plant cells and then distributed to all parts of the plant body. Here they are converted into simpler, soluble forms that can be absorbed into the protoplasm of each cell. The raw materials necessary for the synthesis of these complex nutrients are obtained from the air and soil around the plant.
All living organisms that cannot secure their own energy supply either through photosynthesis or through chemosynthesis are referred to as heterostrophs or heterostrophic organisms. Hetero strophic means to feed on others. All animals are heterostrophs. Other organisms such as many species of bacteria, some flowering plants and all fungi use this feeding method. The food intake of the heterostrophs is very different. However, the way food is processed in the body into a usable form is very similar for most. But all green plants have the ability to make carbohydrates from certain raw materials found in the air and soil. This ability is important not only for the plants themselves, but also for animals, including humans, who depend directly or indirectly on plants for food.
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants make their food by utilizing solar energy and available raw materials. It is the production of carbohydrates in plants. It only takes place in the chlorophyll (i.e. green) cells of leaves and stems. These green cells contain chloroplasts, which are essential for the synthesis of food. All of the raw materials required for photosynthesis, namely water and mineral salts from the soil as well as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, must therefore be transported to the chlorophyll cells that are most abundant in the leaves.
The tiny pores, or stomata, that are usually found in large numbers on the underside of most leaves, allow gases from the atmosphere to enter the tissues inside. A stoma is an oval epidermal cell known as a guard cell. Each stoma is actually the opening of a substomata air chamber. This is a large intercellular air space that is adjacent to the stoma. It is continuous with other intercellular air spaces located inside the leaf. The size of each stomatapore depends on the curvature of the guard cells that flank it. When the guard cells are filled with water, they become swollen or swollen, and as a result, the pore opens. However, when the water level is low, they become soft or limp and collapse, closing the pores. When the stoma is open, air enters the substomata chamber and diffuses through the intercellular air, which is dissolved in the water surrounding the cells. This carbon dioxide solution then diffuses into the cells of the leaf, particularly the palisade cells. Here it is used by the chloroplasts for photosynthesis.
Water containing dissolved mineral salts such as phosphates, chlorides and bicarbonates of sodium, potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium is taken up by the roots from the soil. This soil water enters the root hairs through a process called osmosis, the movement of water molecules from an area of lower concentration to an area of higher concentration through a semi-permeable membrane. It is then passed through the xylem tissue from the roots up through the stem to the leaves. It is transported to all cells via the vein and its branches.
The chloroplasts contain the green pigment (chlorophyll) that gives plants their color and is able to absorb light energy from sunlight. This energy is used for one of the first essential steps in photosynthesis; namely the splitting of the water molecule into oxygen and hydrogen. This oxygen is released into the atmosphere. The hydrogen components are also used to reduce carbon dioxide in a number of enzymes and energy-consuming reactions to form complex organic compounds such as sugars and starches.
During photosynthesis, high-energy compounds like carbohydrates are synthesized from low-energy compounds like carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. Since solar energy is required for photosynthesis, the process cannot take place at night due to the lack of sunlight. The end products of photosynthesis are carbohydrates and oxygen. The former is distributed to all parts of the plant. The latter is released back into the atmosphere in gaseous form via the stomata in exchange for the absorbed carbon dioxide. The occurrence of photosynthesis in green leaves can be demonstrated by experiments involving the uptake of carbon dioxide, water and energy by the leaves and the production of oxygen and carbohydrates. With simple experiments, the oxygen release of green plants, the formation of carbohydrates (namely starch) in leaves and the need for carbon dioxide, sunlight and chlorophyll for the starch formation of green leaves can be demonstrated.
In experiments in physiology, biological materials such as plants and animals or parts of plants and animals are exposed to unusual conditions, e.g. B. placed in vessels, cages or boxes. If an experiment is conducted to show the effects produced by the absence of carbon dioxide during the photosynthetic process, then it can be argued that the outcome of such an experiment is due in part to exposing the biological material to unnatural experimental conditions, therefore necessary to set up two almost identical experiments; one is placed under normal conditions (the control experiment) where all factors necessary for photosynthesis are present, while the other (the test experiment) is placed under a condition where a single factor is eliminated or varied while all other factors are present . This gives the experimenter confidence that the result their testing experiment is showing is due to the eliminated or varied factor and not to the experimental design. Thus, the control experiment serves as a guide to ensure that the conclusion reached by the test experiment is not a fallacy.
After some proper experiments, observations clearly show that oxygen is released only when photosynthesis is taking place, i.e. during the day. Starch cannot be formed without sunlight, although all other essential factors such as water, carbon dioxide and chlorophyte may be present.
Photosynthesis, the basic ingredient of nutrition, the unit of healthy life, has played and continues to play an essential role in living organisms. The complex cell structures of plants are built from the primary product of photosynthesis, namely a simple carbohydrate such as glucose. At this point it must be clear that while much emphasis has been placed on photosynthesis, the process of protein synthesis is just as important as the former. During protein synthesis, nitrogenous compounds absorbed by plants, and in certain cases phosphorus and other elements, combine with glucose to form the various plant proteins.
In addition to contributing to the synthesis of plant proteins, glucose is important because it can be converted into fats and oils after a series of chemical reactions. It is also the main product from which other organic compounds are formed.
The importance of photosynthesis in all food cycles cannot be overstated. Animals are unable to harness the sun’s energy to synthesize high-energy compounds from simple, readily available substances such as water and carbon dioxide found in the atmosphere around us, but the sun’s ultraviolet rays cause some of these in living things Body; The melanin and keratin affects the color and firmness of the animal skin and some internal damage. From the rays, it is fortunate that plants have the ability to harness the energy of sunlight to synthesize and store high-energy compounds on which all forms of animal life ultimately depend.
In order to survive, humans not only eat plant products such as fruits, vegetables and grains, but also animals such as cattle and fish. Cattle and other herbivorous animals rely entirely on plant life for their existence. While certain fish are herbivorous, others have a mixed diet and a large number are entirely carnivorous. Carnivorous animals indirectly depend on plants for their livelihood. Their immediate diet consists of smaller animals, which must subsist, if not entirely, at least on plants. Photosynthesis is the first step in all food cycles.
During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and oxygen is added. Were it not for this cleansing process in nature, the atmosphere would soon become saturated with carbon dioxide released by the respiration of animals and plants and the breakdown of organic matter, and all life would gradually cease. No nutrition without photosynthesis. And if there is no food, no living being will exist. And if there are no living beings on earth, the earth will still be formless and completely empty. There will be no more work for living things unless photosynthesis is courted. I wonder what will be the fate of living things today or someday when photosynthesis stops.
Thanks to Joshua Okwara
