Digestion of food in amoeba occurs in

The correct option is "food vacuole".

Here is a step-by-step educational explanation of how digestion occurs in amoeba:

1. Ingestion:
An amoeba is a unicellular organism that does not have a specialized mouth or digestive system. When it encounters a food particle, it extends temporary, finger-like projections of its cell membrane called pseudopodia (false feet) around the food particle.

2. Formation of the Food Vacuole:
The pseudopodia fuse together over the food particle, engulfing it along with a tiny drop of water. This creates a temporary membrane-bound cavity inside the cell known as a food vacuole.

3. Digestion:
Once the food vacuole is formed, digestive enzymes from the surrounding cytoplasm enter the vacuole. These enzymes break down the complex, insoluble food materials into simpler, soluble substances. Therefore, the actual chemical digestion of food takes place inside the food vacuole.

4. Absorption and Assimilation:
The digested food molecules then diffuse out of the food vacuole directly into the cytoplasm, where they are used for energy, growth, and cellular repair.

5. Egestion:
The undigested waste materials remaining inside the vacuole are sent to the cell membrane, which ruptures at any convenient point to expel the waste outside the body.