Explain the Digestion of Food
Salivary amylase or ptyalin acts on cooked starches (polysaccharides) and changes them into maltose as shown herewith.
Boiled starch → soluble starch → Erythrodextrin and Maltose
Achrodextrins and Maltose →Isomaltose and Maltose.
The action of amylase is not complete in the mouth but it continues in the stomach until the reaction of the bolus has been made strongly acid by hydrochloric acid in the stomach. The pH of gastric juice is between 1.5 and 1.8. The pH of saliva is between 6.02 and 7.5.