Name a site of amylase action.

Prepare for the Leaving Certificate Digestion Test with engaging questions and explanations. Ready yourself with multiple choice quizzes, hints, and deep insights. Be exam-ready now!

Multiple Choice

Name a site of amylase action.

Explanation:
Amylase begins starch digestion as soon as the food is in the mouth, because saliva contains the enzyme (salivary amylase) that acts on starch there. Chewing mixes starch with this enzyme, starting the breakdown into smaller sugars like maltose in the oral cavity. In the stomach the acidic environment inactivates amylase, so its action doesn’t occur there. The liver and kidney aren’t sites where amylase acts in digestion, while pancreatic amylase does work later in the small intestine, but the question asks for a site from the given options, and the mouth fits that role.

Amylase begins starch digestion as soon as the food is in the mouth, because saliva contains the enzyme (salivary amylase) that acts on starch there. Chewing mixes starch with this enzyme, starting the breakdown into smaller sugars like maltose in the oral cavity. In the stomach the acidic environment inactivates amylase, so its action doesn’t occur there. The liver and kidney aren’t sites where amylase acts in digestion, while pancreatic amylase does work later in the small intestine, but the question asks for a site from the given options, and the mouth fits that role.

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