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Part 1: Salivary Amylase Activity

Salivary amylase is an enzyme in saliva that breaks down starch. In this experiment, a saltine cracker was chewed for various times and the taste was observed. After 3 minutes, a slight sweetness was detected, and after 5 minutes a strong sweetness was tasted. Salivary amylase breaks down the starch in the cracker into glucose polymers and individual glucose molecules, imparting a sweet taste over time as more starch is broken down into simple sugars like glucose and fructose. Therefore, the experiment demonstrates how salivary amylase functions to digest starch in the mouth.

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Mariam Rahim
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2K views3 pages

Part 1: Salivary Amylase Activity

Salivary amylase is an enzyme in saliva that breaks down starch. In this experiment, a saltine cracker was chewed for various times and the taste was observed. After 3 minutes, a slight sweetness was detected, and after 5 minutes a strong sweetness was tasted. Salivary amylase breaks down the starch in the cracker into glucose polymers and individual glucose molecules, imparting a sweet taste over time as more starch is broken down into simple sugars like glucose and fructose. Therefore, the experiment demonstrates how salivary amylase functions to digest starch in the mouth.

Uploaded by

Mariam Rahim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PART 1: SALIVARY AMYLASE ACTIVITY

INTRODUCTION

Starch, a complex carbohydrate polymer, can be found in grains like wheat, corn and oats.
Starch, which is a polymer made from thousands of sugar molecules bonded together, stores
energy for plants. Digestion of starch normally begins in the mouth of humans where an
enzyme catalyst, salivary amylase, is secreted to speed up the breaking of starch into its
monomer sugars.

Enzymes are specific. Each chemical reaction uses a different enzyme that has a specific
active site shaped perfectly to fit the specific substrate/reactant. The substrate fits into the
active site of the enzyme allowing for bond breaking or making to catalyze the reaction.
Enzymes are denatured when excessively heated in that they unravel and their shape is
permanently altered making them ineffective. Digestion of starch normally begins in the
mouth of humans where an enzyme, salivary amylase, is secreted, it catalyse the
break-up of the starch (Cecie Star, 2014).

OBJECTIVE

To observe the function of enzyme amylase in saliva that will give sweet taste to cracker.

MATERIAL

Saltine cracker

PROCEDURE

1. One saltine cracker was placed on tongue without swallowing.


2. The saltine cracker was chewed for about 3 to 5 minutes - it’s a long time. Make sure
DO NOT swallow.
3. Observation was make by describe the sweet taste of saltine cracker after a few
minute.
RESULT

Time (min) Taste

0 Nothing sweetness detect

3 Slightly sweetness detect

5 Strongly Sweetness detect

DISCUSSION

Starch is a long polymer of glucose molecules. There are three forms of starch- amylase,
amylopectin and animal starch which glycogen. Amylase is the form that found in the
crackers. Amylase is a linear chain of 200-2000 glucose sub units that will bonded together
that forms a long helical structure. In this experiment when the cracker is start chewed up, so
the salivary amylase start breaking down the cracker into shorter glucose polymers. Some
will converted into individual glucose molecules that may impart a sweetness taste. However
as we know glucose is not particularly sweet, but the fructose very similar in structure to
glucose so that it is so much sweeter. In table sugar- sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and
fructose, which will give sweet taste to the cracker. So that cracker will give sweet taste after
a 5 minutes chewed it up because in mouth saliva has provides enough amylase to digest all
of the starch that break down starch in simple sugar like glucose (Jiby, 2016).

CONCLUSION
In the conclusion we can assume that the sweetness of the cracker was by helping of enzyme
amylase that found in the saliva. This salivary amylase was break the cracker into small
molecules and into shorter glucose polymer which is glucose is a simple sugar.

REFERENCE

Cecie S. & Beverly M. (2014). Human biology. Canada: Nelson Education.

Jiby J. M. (2016). Behaviour of Salivary Amylase in Various Reaction Environments. USA:


GRIN publishing.

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