Question

What substance is mixed with food in the mouth during chewing?

Answer 1

Hint: Chewing the mechanical process that helps in the digestion. As soon as we take food inside, the food has to generate particles which are small and of the same texture. This is done by crushing the food with teeth. The food is also made smooth and soft by the fluid substance secreted by salivary glands.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Digestion is the process of breakdown of insoluble complex food molecules into the simple soluble molecules. In humans, the digestive system consists of the alimentary canal and associated digestive glands. The chemical and mechanical digestion starts in the mouth with the chewing of the food and release of saliva. The saliva is the watery fluid-like substance produced in the mouth. The food is crushed or grinds with the help of teeth. The food is mixed thoroughly with saliva and moved around the mouth by tongue. Saliva contains the mucus that moistens the food particles. Since the lining of the canal is soft, the food is also wetted and soft to make the passage easy and smooth. Apart from the mixing of food, the saliva plays another important function. Saliva helps in digestion of starch present in the food into the disaccharide carbohydrates called maltose in the mouth. The carbohydrates are digested by the enzyme present in the saliva called salivary amylase. Saliva is secreted by three major glands called parotid, submandibular and sublingual.

Note: Immunoglobulins and lysosomes are present in the saliva, which have antibacterial activity on the teeth. They protect the teeth from decay by inhibiting the growth of some bacteria. Saliva also buffers the pH of the food. The chewing and wetting process gives shape to the food into a mass called bolus of swallowing.