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Did you know how much water in the body affects decomposition?
Decomposition is a process that begins immediately after death and involves the destruction of soft tissue, ultimately leaving behind the remains of a skeleton. The chemical mechanism of this process is quite complex. Soft tissues in the body go through multiple stages of decomposition, followed by autolysis and putrefaction. The composition of the human body can be roughly divided into 64% water, 20% protein, 10% fat, 1% carbohydrate and 5% minerals.
Water plays a vital role in the decomposition process because the body's water content directly affects the performance of various biochemical reactions.
The decomposition process of soft tissue mainly involves the breakdown of these macromolecules, of which the protein and fat content are particularly important. As the body begins to break down, different membrane and tissue proteins are broken down at different rates, which is closely related to the presence of water.
Protein degradation
Proteins are components of different tissues within the body, and these tissues can be divided into soft and hard tissues. Because moisture affects protein degradation, these proteins are not broken down at a uniform rate. In the early stages of breakdown, soft tissue proteins are degraded, including the epithelial cells of the intestines and pancreas, as well as proteins formed in the brain, liver, and kidneys.
The process of breaking down proteins is called proteolysis. This process is affected by factors such as moisture, temperature, and bacteria.
In advanced stages of breakdown, more resistant tissue proteins are destroyed by putrefaction, such as muscle proteins and collagen. Keratin is a protein mainly found in skin, hair and nails. It is relatively resistant to hydrolytic enzymes and must rely on specialized keratin-decomposing microorganisms for decomposition.
Release of nitrogen and phosphorus
Nitrogen in proteins is usually released through deamination, mostly in the form of ammonia. This ammonia can be used by surrounding plants or microorganisms, or it can accumulate in the soil. The presence of nitrogen promotes plant growth, which makes the moisture in the soil have a direct impact on the nitrogen release process.
The release of phosphorus mainly comes from components in proteins and nucleic acids, and its release path depends on the pH value of the surrounding environment.
Carbohydrate degradation
In the early stages of breakdown, carbohydrates are subject to microbial degradation, which initially converts glycogen into glucose monomers. Depending on the availability of oxygen in the environment, these sugars can be broken down completely to produce carbon dioxide and water, or incompletely to produce various organic acids and alcohols.
Under aerobic conditions, fungi and bacteria will decompose sugars into a variety of organic acids, thereby affecting the acidity of the environment.
Fat degradation
Most fat in the body is found primarily in adipose tissue, and the water content, protein, and fat ratio of these adipose tissues all affect the breakdown process. Neutral fats are hydrolyzed by lipases immediately after death, releasing free fatty acids, which occurs more rapidly when hydrated.
The degradation of fatty acids is also divided into two pathways, aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and these pathways are also affected by moisture. Under aerobic conditions, fat will be oxidized, while under anaerobic conditions, anaerobic bacteria mainly dominate the degradation of fatty acids and generate metabolites.
Nucleic acid degradation
The degradation of nucleic acids will produce nitrogen radicals, phosphates and sugars, and these products will be further used in the degradation pathways of other macromolecules. The release of nitrogen is also affected by moisture and the environment, which makes the decomposition of nucleic acids closely related to the release of nitrogen.
Bone degradation
Bones are composed of proteins (mainly collagen), minerals and other organic components. They are highly adaptable to the environment, but will eventually be destroyed. The degradation process of bones is called geological processes and is affected by factors such as moisture, temperature, soil type and pH, which makes the durability of bones show great variability in different environments.
The presence of moisture not only promotes the release of nutrients, but also accelerates tissue degradation, especially under the accelerated effects of putrefaction and microbial activity.
Over time, various components in the human body gradually break down into their most basic substances, a process that is significantly affected by the presence or absence of water. Have you ever thought about the profound impact water has on the biological decomposition process?
