Question

1. How does an enzyme, such as amylase, break down polysaccharides?

2. How does this compare to your mechanism by which saccharides break down in the stomach? Explain.

A typed answer would be best! thanks so much!

Answer 1

Amylase is known to break down polysaccharide such as starch. It is present in mouth and starts the digestion process in mouth only by breaking the attach into smaller components i.e maltose which can be further break down to glucose units.

Now as starch is long chain of glucose units connected in 1,4 manner and two chains are connected via 1,6 attachment.

Nit what amylose does it , it acts as providing water molecules which brings out the hydrolysis of 1,4 glycosidic linkage and hence break the large molecule into smaller one. Collection of enzymes work together , some are reactive to straight chains while some work on side chains . The mechanism is still not clear. Most enzymes work by having a region that attracts or binds to the molecule.

2) this digestion which was started by salivary amylase in the mouth is continued by pancreas amylase in the intestine .

Amylase digest amylose (straight part of starch) into discaharide and amylopectin to branched chains called dextrins .

Both of discaharide and dextrin is digested by enzyme called maltase finally resulting in formation of glucose and glucose can be hydrolysed to produce ATP .