Question

What experiment should you perform to understand the action of saliva on flour? Explain its procedure and apparatus that you followed.

Answer 1

Saliva helps to break down carbohydrates present in the food into macromolecules. This action of saliva is tested by an experiment on the action of saliva on the flour as flour contains carbohydrate and the breakdown process can be seen with the given experiment.

Complete step by step answer:
To test the action of saliva on the flour, the amylase test is conducted which shows us how our saliva acts on the carbohydrate presentpresent in the flour.
Procedure:
1. Take a pinch of flour to the test tube which is filled with water and mix it properly.
2. Now, in this mixture add a few drops of iodine solution.
3. If the solution contains starch in it, then the colour of the solution will turn blue which will confirm the presence of the starch.
4. Now, take another test tube with half-filled water in it and divide the mixture into two parts by transferring some parts into another test tube.
5. Now in one of the test tubes, add a few drops of saliva and leave it for 30 to 45 minutes.
6. Now, add iodine solution into both the test tubes.
It is observed that the test tube which does not contain saliva turns blue whereas the test tube which contains saliva does not turn blue in color. It means that starch present in the flour entraps the iodine inside it which results in a change of colour whereas the test tube in which saliva was present does not show it. As the saliva has an amylase enzyme that converts starch to simple sugars.

Note: The digestion of food in our body begins in our mouth as it contains saliva which helps in the digestion of starch. The saliva also helps in soften the food and add enzymes to food which helps in facilitating the process of digestion in our body by other digestive organs