How is starch digested?

Starch is a polysaccharide- a chain of maltose sugars bonded with glycosidic bonds. Digestion begins in the mouth by the mechanical breakdown of starch as the teeth increase the surface area for enzyme action. The saliva also begins chemical digestion by containing amylase enzyme that hydrolyses some of the starch into maltose sugars. No digestion occurs in the stomach. In the small intestine membrane bound maltase enzymes allow maltose to diffuse into the cell where it is then hydrolysed into 2 glucose molecules.

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