What is the role of saliva in the digestion of food?

1 Answer
Suren Abreu
May 9, 2017

Saliva moistens the food, forms it into boluses, and helps begin digestion by carbohydrate breakdown through the enzyme amylase.

Explanation:

The primary role of saliva is to mix with the food, moisten it, and enable it to form boluses (small balls) that are easy to swallow and pass through the oesophagus into the stomach.

Saliva also contains an enzyme called amylase which breaks down complex carbohydrates like starch into simpler carbohydrates like maltose and dextrin which are then further broken down in the stomach.

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