5.

STUDY OF DIGESTION OF STARCH BY SALIVARY AMYLASE AND EFFECT OOF

pH AND TEMPERATURE ON IT
Plants storefood in the form of starch. In our body, this starch is digested with the
help of enzyme, known as amylase.
Our salivary glands secrete saliva, which contains salivary amylase and it helps in breakdown of starch into
glucose
and maltose. The rate of digestion of starch depends on pH and temperature.
Aim
Study of digestion of starch by salivary amylase and effect of pH and temperature on it.

Materials Required
Test tubes As per need Dropper: 1 lodine solution : As per need
Beakers: As per need Stop watch: 1 Starch: As per need
Dil. HCI: As per need Dil. NaOH : As per need Gas burner: 1
1% NaCl solution : As per need Water bath: 1 Boiling tube : 1
Theory
allva is secreted by salivary glands present in mouth. Saliva contains enzyme amylase. Amylase digests
carbohydrates.
a rom small digestive role saliva also helps in making food slippery to facilitate easier swallowing.
Amylase Maltose+Glucose
Starch + H,O
Pp
Procedure
Collecting saliva
Rinse your mouth properly with lukewarm water so that it is perfectly clean and free of food particles.

Now, take mouthful of water and gargle for about I minute. Spit this water in a beaker.
a
.Filter the collected water to remove suspended particles. This is the solution ofsaliva, which contains amylase.

Preparation of starch paste

.Take I g of starch in a clean 250 ml. beaker and add 100 ml. of distilled water to make a paste.
Boil the paste for about 5 minutes and filter it.
Allow it to cool down.

Studying the digestion of starch by amylase

Take 10 mL of starch solution in a boiling tube and add 2-3 mL of 1% NaCl solution to it.
Keep the boiling tube in a water bath maintained at 30- 40°C for 15 minutes.
Add 2 mL of saliva solution in the boiling tube and start stopwatch immediately.
After one minute, drops of the mixture in the boiling tube is taken in a test tube containing iodine solution.
Observe the colour of iodine.
I f it turns to dark blue then it means that starch is yet to be digested by amylase.
Keep on putting drops of starch and amylase mixture from the boiling tube to a test tube containing iodine
solution after every one minute. Measure the time taken by amylase to digest starch.
I t is a well known fact that iodine makes a dark blue complex with starch. So when starch is present in the
mixture the iodine turns to dark blue.
Once starch is digested the colour ofiodine solution remains the same. Stop taking readings then.

Observation Table
Time elapsed 1 min 2 min 3 min t min
Colour Deep blue Blue Light blue No blue colour
Studying the effect of temperature on digestion by amylase
Take three clean test tubes and label them as 1, 2 and 3.
T o each test tube add 10 mL of starch solution and 2 mL of saliva solution.
Put test tube 1 at room temperature.
P u t test tube 2 in a water bath maintained at 50°C.
Put test tube 3 in a water bath maintained at 100°C.
Put drops from three mixtures using different droppers in
separate test tubes containing iodine solution and
calculate time it takes amylase to digest starch in each case.

Observation Table

Time Intensity of Blue Colour

elapsed Test tube No. 1 (Room
temp.) Test tube No. 2
(50°C)|TTest tube No. 3 (= 100° C)
5 min Light blue Blue Deep blue
6 min No blue Light blue Blue
7 min
Very light blue
8 min
No blue
9 min
10 min
Blue
 studying the effect of pH on digestion by amylase
Take three clean test tubes and label them as 1, 2 and 3.
Ta Pach test tube add 10 mL of starch solution and 2 mL of saliva solution.
Keep one test tube as such, as a control,

.Put 2 ml
dil. HCl in testtube 2.
Put 2 mL of NaOH solution in test tube 3.
P u t drops of the mixtures from the above test tubes in different test tubes containing iodine solution and calculate
the time taken by amylase to digest starch.

Observation Table
Test tube No. Colour produced
Contents
Starch + Saliva No blue
2. Starch + Saliva + dil. HCI Blue
3 Starch +Saliva + dil. NaOH Blue

Results
Amylase digests starch.
. Digestion of starch by amylase is maximum at room temperature.
starch by amylase is maximum
.Too high or too low pH hampers the digestion ofstarch by amylase. Digestion of
atpH 7.

APrecautions
Starch solution should be freshly prepared.
for each test.
Always use same amount of mixture
for digestion of starch in each test tube.
Use separate droppers of iodine to test

VIVA VoCE
Which enzymes are present in saliva?
Q1.
Ans. Amylase.
Q2. What is the role of amylase?
Ans. Amylase helps in digestion of carbohydrates.
Q3. What is the role of lipase?
fats.
Ans. Lipase helps in digestion of
of saliva?
is the another role
Q4. Apart from digestion what becomes easier to swallow.
so that it
Ans. Saliva helps in making the food slippery
of starch?
give clue about rate of digestion indicate
5 . Which test with saliva can colour on adding iodine will
with starch. No change in
blue complex
Ans. lodine test, iodine makes a dark
as
amylase.
complete digestion of starch by
Q6. Which glands secrete saliva?
Ans. Salivary gland. raised?
temperature is
What happens to efficiency of amylase, when maximum at room temperature or
human body temperature.

effective. Amylase
efficiency is
A m y l a s e becomes less medium becomes acidic?
when the
to efficiency of amylase
Wnat happens
Ans. Amylase becomes less effective.
when the medium becomes basic?
09. h a p p e n s to efficiency of amylase