Starch is hydrolyzed into maltose by both the Salivary amylase and Pancreatic amylase.
Starch is breakdown into maltose (disaccharide) first in the mouth by the action of enzyme Salivary amylase and then in the small intestine by the action Pancreatic amylase. Starch is a branched-chain polysaccharide consisting of glucose subunits. The glucose monomers are linked together by alpha 1-4 or alpha 1-6 glycosidic bonds. Starch is synthesized and stored in green plants. It is present in large quantities in potatoes, wheat, corn, rice, etc. As starch (carbohydrate) is a good source of energy, starchy foods are very commonly present in human diets.
The α-amylase ptyalin or salivary amylase is synthesized in the salivary glands in the mouth and the α-amylase pancreatic amylase is synthesized in the pancreas and acts in the small intestine.
Starch is composed of straight-chain amylose, where glucose monomers are linked by α 1,4-glycosidic bonds and branched-chain amylopectin, where glucose monomers are linked by α 1,6-linked glycosidic bonds. Starch is digested within the mouth cavity by the action of ptyalin or salivary amylase. The enzyme α-amylase ptyaline digests the starch into short glucose chains and disaccharide maltose (Glucose+Glucose). Further, the Pancreatic amylase breaks down starch into small oligosaccharides, disaccharides (maltose), and trisaccharides (maltotriose) within the intestine.
