Question

What is the function of digestive enzymes.

Answer 1

Digestive enzymes play a major role in breaking down the food we eat. These exist in the alimentary tract. These are secreted by the salivary glands and cells lining the stomach, pancreas, and small intestine to aid in the digestion of food.

Complete answer: A digestive enzyme speeds up chemical reactions that turn nutrients into substances that your digestive tract can absorb. Our saliva contains various types of digestive enzymes in it. Some of your organs, including your pancreas, gallbladder, and liver, also release them. The main site of action is the oral cavity, stomach, duodenum, and jejunum.
They are secreted by different gland:
1. The salivary glands
2. The glands in the stomach
3. The pancreas
4. The glands in the small intestine.
Saliva begins to form in your mouth and this saliva breaks down the chemicals in the food which makes the food easy to swallow. In the oral cavity salivary glands secrete ptyalin it is a type of amylase that breaks starch into small segments of multiple sugars.
Types of digestive enzymes:
1. Amylase: It is important for the digestion of carbohydrates. It breaks up the starches into sugars. Amylase is secreted by the salivary glands as well as the pancreas. The measurement of amylase levels in the blood is sometimes used as an aid in diagnosing various pancreas or other digestive tract diseases.
2. Maltase: Maltase is secreted by the small intestine and is responsible for breaking down maltose (malt sugar) into glucose (simple sugar) that the body uses for energy. During digestion, starch is somewhat converted into maltose by amylases. The maltase then converts maltose into glucose that is either used immediately by the body or stored in the liver as glycogen for further use.
3. Lactase: Lactase is a type of enzyme that breaks down lactose, a sugar found in dairy products, into the simple sugars glucose and galactose.
4. Lipase: Lipase is responsible for the breakdown of fats into fatty acids and glycerol (simple sugar alcohol). It's produced in small amounts by your mouth and stomach and in larger amounts by your pancreas.
5. Proteases: Also called peptidases, proteolytic enzymes, or proteinases, these digestive enzymes break down proteins into amino acids. Proteases are produced in the stomach and pancreas.
The main ones are:
1. Pepsin
2. Trypsin
3. Chymotrypsin:
4. Carboxypeptidase A and B

Note: The digestive enzymes do this by splitting the large, complex molecules that make proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into smaller ones, allowing the nutrients from these foods to be easily absorbed into the bloodstream and carried throughout the body.