Question

Ptyalin, an enzyme work in saliva, which is
A) Alkaline medium
B) Almost neutral medium
C) Acidic medium
D) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint:There are many digestive enzymes and substances that are involved in the digestion process like, amylase, bile, pancreatic juice, hydrochloric acid, etc. all work together for the break-down of complex food into simple food.

Complete answer
To answer this question, we have to know details about the salivary gland. There are two types of salivary glands one is major salivary gland and other is the minor salivary glands. The major salivary glands produce most of the saliva in our mouth and are divided into; parotid gland, submandibular gland, and sublingual gland. The parotid glands found in front of the ears and produces saliva from the duct near the upper molar, the submandibular glands found below the jaw and produce saliva under the tongue, and the sublingual gland found under the mouth floor and either side of the tongue. The minor glands are found throughout the mouth; in the lining of lips, roof of the mouth, and lining of tongues. These glands work in the digestion of the food. They activate an enzyme found in the mouth called ptyalin that is also termed as amylase. These enzymes are involved in the break-down of the starch into sugar compounds like dextrin and maltose. These enzymes have the pH of 6.5 that is an acidic medium. The pH should maintain the acidic medium for the digestion activity.

Note:Due to the presence of amylase thirty percent of digestion takes place in the mouth. The amylase involved in the break-down of starch and the starch compounds cannot get dissolved if the amylase has an alkali medium.