Where does salivary amylase begin carbohydrate digestion?

Where does salivary amylase begin carbohydrate digestion?

• A. Esophagus
• B. Small intestine
• C. Mouth
• D. Stomach

Answer: (C)

Carbohydrate digestion by salivary amylase begins in the mouth. Salivary amylase is released with saliva from the salivary glands and starts breaking down starch by cleaving alpha-1,4 glycosidic bonds as you chew, producing smaller sugars like maltose and dextrins. This initial step occurs during mastication in the oral cavity. The stomach’s acidic environment inactivates salivary amylase, so starch digestion doesn’t continue there. Digestion picks up again in the small intestine, where pancreatic amylase continues breaking down starch to maltose and other small sugars, which brush-border enzymes then finish for absorption. The esophagus doesn’t digest carbohydrates; it only transports food.

Carbohydrate digestion by salivary amylase begins in the mouth. Salivary amylase is released with saliva from the salivary glands and starts breaking down starch by cleaving alpha-1,4 glycosidic bonds as you chew, producing smaller sugars like maltose and dextrins. This initial step occurs during mastication in the oral cavity. The stomach’s acidic environment inactivates salivary amylase, so starch digestion doesn’t continue there. Digestion picks up again in the small intestine, where pancreatic amylase continues breaking down starch to maltose and other small sugars, which brush-border enzymes then finish for absorption. The esophagus doesn’t digest carbohydrates; it only transports food.