Digestion of carbohydrates flowchart

From the Mouth to the Stomach

The mechanical and chemical digestion of carbohydrates begins in the mouth.

Chewing, also known as mastication, crumbles the carbohydrate foods into smaller and smaller pieces. The salivary glands in the oral cavity secrete saliva that coats the food particles. Saliva contains the enzyme, salivary amylase.

This enzyme breaks the bonds between the monomeric sugar units of disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and starches.

Digestion of carbohydrates pdf

The salivary amylase breaks down amylose and amylopectin into smaller chains of glucose, called dextrins and maltose. The increased concentration of maltose in the mouth that results from the mechanical and chemical breakdown of starches in whole grains is what enhances their sweetness.

Only about five percent of starches are broken down in the mouth. (This is a good thing as more glucose in the mouth would lead to more tooth decay.) When carbohydrates reach the stomach no further chemical breakdown occurs because the amylase enzyme does not function i

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