How Does Salivary Amylase Work

There are many types of enzymes and each has a specific job. Enzymes are particular types of proteins that help to speed up some reactions, such as reactants going to products. One of them is the amylase enzyme. Amylases are found in saliva, and pancreatic secretions of the small intestine. The function of amylase is to break down big molecules of starch into small molecules like glucose; this process is called hydrolysis. Enzymes are very specific; for example, amylase is the only enzyme that will break down starch. It is similar to the theory of the lock

1) Amylase is utilized to break down starch molecules into more simple sugars for use by the body. It performs this function by hydrolyzing glycosidic linkages in the polysaccharide chain.

There is another digestive enzyme (other than salivary amylase) that is secreted by the salivary glands. Research to determine what this enzyme is called. What substrate does it act on? Where in the body does it become activated, and why?

Specifically, alpha-amylase is produced by the salivary glands of Homo sapiens (Humans) as well as many other mammalian species and is encoded by the gene AMY1A (Tracey 2017, p.22). The enzyme alpha-amylase is able to uptake polysaccharides including starch and glycogen as a substrate then hydrolyze the alpha-1,4-glycosidic linkages that connect the monosaccharides together (Tracey 2017, p.37). This is the reason as to why salivary amylase is also referred to as alpha-amylase (Tracey 2017, p.22).

specific enzyme (Knowles, 1991). One part of the enzyme, salivary amylase, is that alpha amylase is in the saliva of most animals because this enzyme breaks down starch (Jacobsen, Melvaer, Hensten- Pettersen, 1972). In the presence of starch, this enzyme is present in saliva, but is not present when there is no starch present (Jacobsen, Melvaer, Hensten- Pettersen, 1972). The conditions for salivary amylase to have a reaction with starch would change in temperature and enzyme concentration, as well as, monitoring the pH levels (Jacobsen, Melvaer, Hensten- Pettersen, 1972). Salivary amylase is an enzyme is human saliva that helps in digestion of specific substrates, such as starch (Hudman, Friend, Hartman, Ashton, Catron, 1957). It breaks down starch molecules by splitting maltose from the non-reducing end of a gluten molecule (Jacobsen, Melvaer, Hensten-Pettersen, 1972).

In this lab experiment the action of the enzyme Amylase was observed on starch (the substrate). Amylase changed the starch into a simpler form, the sugar maltose, which is soluble in water. Maltose then breaks down the glucose chains of starch in the pancreas and intestines. Amylase is present in human saliva, and begins to act on the starch in the food while still in the mouth. Exposure to heat or extreme PH (acid or base) will denature proteins. Enzymes, including amylase, are proteins; if denatured enzymes can no longer act as a catalyst for the reaction. In the presence of potassium iodide, starch turns a dark purple color; however maltose does not react with I2KI. The rate of fading of starch allows a quantitative measurement of reaction rate.

An enzyme also known as a protein, is a biological catalyst which speeds up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy to increase the rate in which the reaction occurs. The enzyme used was amylase, which breaks down starch molecules into maltose. PH, substrate concentration, salt concentration, and temperature. When enzymes reach a low temperature, the activity is slowed down of molecule movement, but the enzyme is not destroyed. Once enzymes are placed in optimal temperatures once again, it will restore its activity to a normal rate. When enzymes reach too high above optimal temperature, the enzyme is denatured and cannot be restored. In the experiment performed the activity of breaking down starch in fungal and bacterial amylase was being tested at a range of temperatures and time. The fungal and bacterial amylase work best at optimal temperature. Amylase will function best at sixty degrees Celsius at 10 minutes when starch had been one hundred percent hydrolyzed. Hydrolyzed is the breakdown of molecules through addition of water. The experiments independent variables were the time, temperature and enzyme used. The dependent variable was the enzyme activity that broke down the starch into maltose. The controlled variables were the temperature baths, the iodine drop amount, the mixture drop amount, and location of experiment. The control group was the zero minutes without amylase at

An enzyme is a biological catalyst that speeds up the rate of reaction in certain biological functions. They play a vital role in many aspects of human physiology and are necessary for the functioning of a number of systems, for example in the digestive system to help to break down food. All enzymes have a unique active site that can fit on to a particular molecular arrangement on a target substrate; a substance e.g. carbohydrate, protein, or fat, that the enzyme is designed to breakdown. There are a number of different enzymes in the human body; each type produced specifically to perform a certain role. Enzymes are not themselves destroyed in the reaction to break down a

To test enzyme activity, an experiment was conducted in the laboratory. In this experiment, the enzyme Amylase was chosen because it assists disassemble the polysaccharide starch. Starch is the main energy storage in plants. Human cells need the energy of stored in the starch to be introduced in the form of Maltose. Maltose is a simple sugar that can be used to generate the energy needed to power cellular work

Amylase is an enzyme that is located in human saliva. It is solely accountable for breaking down starch as a way to start the breakdown of food and is one of the first steps of digestion. The time at which the enzyme starts the chemical reaction with starch is called the reaction rate. In order to study how amylase works against starch, this experiment consisted of two tests; each testing a different condition of amylase. The first test was to simply study the reaction between saliva and amylase and note the reaction rates. The second test was to see if increasing the pH would decrease the reaction rate or halt it all together. Saliva was collected, diluted, and tested for reactions between starch and amylase. Another sample of saliva was collected, diluted, and had its pH increased and tested for reaction rate. The findings after the experiment was conducted aligned with the original hypothesis. The change in pH did show a significant decrease in the reaction rate.

Most enzymes are made of the macromolecule proteins. The job of an enzyme is to speed up the breakdown of chemicals and reduce the activation energy needed to do so. Enzymes are proteins folded into complex shapes that allow smaller molecules to fit into them. The place where these substrate molecules fit is called the active site. The enzyme then either breaks down the protein or creates a new larger protein. The enzyme amylase is found in saliva and breaks down the substrate starch,or carbohydrates. Amylase is produced in the salivary glands, pancreas and small intestine. Temperature and pH levels affect the reactivity of the enzyme. Changes in an enzyme's environment cause the enzyme to become denatured or misshapen causing the substrate

Amylase is a digestive enzyme. The enzyme is found in the salivary glands in your mouth

In this lab our group observed the role of pancreatic amylase in the digestion of starch and the optimum temperature and pH that affects this enzyme. Enzymes are located inside of cells that increase the rate of a chemical reaction (Cooper, 2000). Most enzymes function in a narrow range of pH between 5 through 9 (Won-Park, Zipp, 2000). The temperature for which enzymes can function is limited as well ranging from 0 degrees Celsius (melting point) to 100 degrees Celsius (boiling point)(Won-Park, Zipp, 2000). When the temperature varies in range it can affect the enzyme either by affecting the constant of the reaction rate or by thermal denturization of the particular enzyme (Won-Park, Zipp, 2000). In this lab in particular the enzyme, which was of concern, was pancreatic amylase. This type of amylase comes from and is secreted from the pancreas to digest starch to break it down into a more simple form called maltose. Maltose is a disaccharide composed of two monosaccharides of glucose. The presence of glucose in our experiment can be identified by Benedicts solution, which shows that the reducing of sugars has taken place. If positive the solution will turn into a murky reddish color, where if it is negative it will stay clear in our reaction. We can also test if no reduction of sugars takes place by an iodine test. If starch is present the test will show a dark black color (Ophardt, 2003).

Amylase is an enzyme that is in human’s saliva as well as the pancreas. Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up a chemical reaction. They break down complex molecules into simple ones. In this case, amylase converts starches (complex molecule) into simple sugars. That is why foods like potatoes for example, may taste sweet to us, because they contain starch. The optimum pH for pancreatic amylase is the pH of 7. In the experiment I have used buffer solutions with the pHs of 2.8, 4 and 6.5. I have also used iodine and starch. Normally, iodine is orange-yellow, however when you add starch to it, the solution will turn blue-black.

The objective of this lab was to assess the effect that temperature and pH had on pancreatic amylase. Amylase is an enzyme involved in digestion and is secreted by both the pancreas and salivary glands (Pandol, 2010). Both salivary and pancreatic amylase display the same enzymatic activities through their role in the digestion of starch (Pandol, 2010). The goal of both salivary and pancreatic amylase is to hydrolyze starch thus breaking down the polysaccharide into a disaccharide such as maltose (Pandol, 2010). As a result, amylase breaks down these sugars making them more easily absorbed in the body during digestion (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2015). Through this lab we learned about the role of pancreatic amylase and how this enzyme operates under certain conditions.