III. QUESTIONS: 1. What is ptyalin made up of?

- A form of amylase in the saliva of humans and some animals that catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch into maltose and dextrin. Ptyalin is a mixture of two enzymes- alpha-amylase and beta-amylase. Ptyalin acts on linear (1,4) glycosidic linkages, but compound hydrolysis requires an enzyme that acts on branched products. http://www.answers.com/topic/ptyalin 2. What substances does ptyalin act upon? - Ptyalin acts on glycogen and starch including their derivatives hydrolyzing them into disaccharide. Foods such as potatoes and rice contain a lot of starch, a carbohydrate. Starch is an insoluble polysaccharide a long chain of sugars. The sugar in this case is glucose, and there are branches coming off of the chain. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ptyalin.htm 3. What are the optimum conditions for ptyalin activity? Optimum pH - 5.66.9 Human body temperature 37C Presence of certain anions and activators: Chloride and bromide most effective Iodide less effective Sulfate and phosphate least effective http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-Amylase