What is the main function of saliva in the mouth during digestion?
It breaks down starch into simple sugar
Saliva secreted by the salivary glands contains the enzyme salivary amylase (ptyalin), which acts on the starch in food and hydrolyses it into simpler sugars such as maltose. This is the first step of chemical digestion in humans and it begins in the buccal cavity itself.
Absorption of nutrients happens mainly in the small intestine, not the mouth; saliva's lysozyme checks some microbes but does not kill all bacteria; and food is carried to the stomach by the peristaltic movement of the oesophagus, saliva only moistening the bolus.
Hence, the answer is It breaks down starch into simple sugar.
Similar Questions
Which part of the human eye controls the amount of light entering the eye?
Why is the small intestine able to fit into a compact space within the human body?
Why does the sight of or thought of delicious food make our mouths "water"?
Which acid does our stomach produce and what is its pH?
Which defect occurs when the eye lens loses its ability to focus on near objects due to decreased flexibility?
In human beings, the respiratory pigment that carries oxygen is ______.
Which gas is essential for aerobic respiration in animals?
Match 'Column A' with 'Column B' in context of the muscular layers in blood vessels.
Column A Column B (a) Thick tunica media (i) Vein (b) Smallest vessel diameter (ii) Artery (c) Large lumen (iii) Capillary (d) Endothelium (iv) All blood vessels A researcher needs to deliver a drug directly to the cells of an organ for rapid effect. Which blood vessel should the delivery target for optimal diffusion to surrounding cells?
Which of the following structures in throat is responsible for the prevention of collapse of air-passage in human beings?
Important Questions from Human body
- Which of the following minerals is essential for oxygen transport in the blood?
- How many pairs of false ribs are located above the floating ribs that are connected to each other by costal cartilage?
- Which mineral helps in the formation of insulin granules, digestion, metabolism and functioning of the male prostate?
- Which of these nutrients is the main energy source for the body/ human diet?
Consider the following statements regarding diabetes:
1. It is caused by the oversecretion of insulin by pancreas.
2. The glucose level increases in the blood.
3. The patient urinates frequently, loses weight and becomes lethargic.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
