BIOCHEMISTRY FOR TEACHERS

EFFECTS OF SALIVA ON STARCH: A TOPIC REVIEW

I. LEARNING INTENTIONS

At the end of this review, students will be able to:

● Learned how the saliva acts on starch.

● Realize how does saliva breaks down the starch.

● Recognize the importance of saliva in our body.

● Identify the effect on starch with and without saliva.

● Students understand the process of digestion of starch by salivary amylase.

II. RESOURCES

amrita.olabs.edu.in,.(2015). Action of Salivary Amylase on Starch. Retrieved 9 June 2021,

https://amrita.olabs.edu.in/?brch=18&cnt=1&sim=236&sub=79

Lactose Intolerance .( April 23, 2012) National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House.

https://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddise...seintolerance/.

Brand-Miller J, et al. Dietary Glycemic Index: Health Implications. J Am Coll Nutr. 2009;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20234031.
Peter J. Butterworth, Frederick J. Warren, Peter R. Ellis (2011) February 23 Human α-
amylase and starch digestion: An interesting marriage
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/star.201000150

KClassScienceChannel (2015 July 3) Action of saliva on starch | Digestion | Biology [Video]

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KJXYYN5Z20

III. METHOD INTERPRETATION

Iodine Test for Starch

 The starch test consists of adding a drop of iodine solution (I2KI) to the sample to be tested. If the
iodine retains its yellow-brown color, starch is absent. If a purple or blue- black color forms, starch is
present, and the deeper the color, the greater the amount of starch. Thus the progress of the reaction can
be visualized by testing the reaction mixture for the disappearance of the substrate (starch), using the
iodine test.

The effect of temperature and pH on the activity of salivary amylase on starch can be studied by
using the Iodine test. If we add saliva on starch, the salivary amylase present in saliva gradually acts on
starch and converts it into maltose. Starch keeps on giving blue colour with iodine till it is completely
digested into maltose. At this point, no blue colour is formed. This is the end point or achromic point.

WITHOUT SALIVA WITH SALIVA

IV. CONCLUSION

All living beings need energy to survive. It is from the food we consume that we get our energy.
We know that the energy we are getting is by the process of digestion that breaks down the complex
substance of starch into simpler molecules of glucose, which are further metabolized into CO2 and water
through the process of glycolysis. The human digestive tract starts at the mouth and ends at the anus.

The digestion of the food starts as soon as we put food in our mouth. Our teeth cut the food into
small pieces and the salivary glands secrete saliva that mixes with these food materials. The saliva
contains an enzyme called salivary amylase which hydrolyses starch into maltose. The complete digestion
of starch occurs only in the small intestine by the action of pancreatic amylase.

The cells in the small intestine have membranes that contain many transport proteins in order to
get the monosaccharides and other nutrients into the blood where they can be distributed to the rest of the
body. The first organ to receive glucose, fructose, and galactose is the liver. The liver takes them up and
converts galactose to glucose, breaks fructose into even smaller carbon-containing units, and either stores
glucose as glycogen or exports it back to the blood. How much glucose the liver exports to the blood is
under hormonal control and you will soon discover that even the glucose itself regulates its concentrations
in the blood.

The saliva added breaks down the starch and converts it into small sugar molecules and once the
conversion of starch to sugar molecules happen the colour changes back. The starch solution not mixed
with saliva remains as it is and turns purple when mixed with iodine. Starch is a polymer of glucose. It
cannot be assimilated in the body as it is and hence is digested to form glucose before being absorbed in
the body.