Answer
The saliva is mostly water, but it has about 0.5% solutes. Some of these solutes are the ions Na+, K+, Cl- and bicarbonates. More importantly, the saliva has amylase, a digestive enzyme that starts the digestion of starch from starch to maltose, maltotriose to alpha-dextrin.
Work Step by Step
Saliva is 99.5% water and 0.5% solutes. The digestive enzyme amylase and the bacteriocidal enzyme lysozyme are important solutes of saliva. In addition, there are several chemical ions that play vital roles in salivary function : these ions include Na+, K+, Cl-, and bicarbonate. One function of the chloride ions is to activate amylase in its catalysis of the conversion (catabolysis) of starch to maltose,malto-triose and alpha-dextrin.
