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An amylase (/ ˈ æ m ɪ l eɪ s /) is an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of starch (Latin amylum) into sugars.Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins the chemical process of digestion.
For instance, glucose formation, when amylolytic enzymes are added to a given compound, the enzymes work to give maximum formation. [4] The amylolytic process is also useful in the breaking down of molecules, it can be closely associated with the process of hydrolysis.
Endohydrolysis of (1→4)-α-D-glucosidic linkages in polysaccharides containing three or more (1→4)-α-linked D-glucose units. It is the major form of amylase found in humans and other mammals. [3] It is also present in seeds containing starch as a food reserve, and is secreted by many fungi. It is a member of glycoside hydrolase family 13.
The hydrolysis of polysaccharides to soluble sugars can be recognized as saccharification. [2] Malt made from barley is used as a source of β-amylase to break down starch into the disaccharide maltose, which can be used by yeast to produce beer. Other amylase enzymes may convert starch to glucose or to oligosaccharides.
Starch is used to produce various bioplastics, synthetic polymers that are biodegradable. An example is polylactic acid based on glucose from starch. Glucose from starch can be further fermented to biofuel corn ethanol using the so-called wet milling process.
Glucose can be obtained by hydrolysis of carbohydrates such as milk sugar , cane sugar (sucrose), maltose, cellulose, glycogen, etc. Dextrose is commonly commercially manufactured from starches, such as corn starch in the US and Japan, from potato and wheat starch in Europe, and from tapioca starch in tropical areas. [26]
Glucose may alternatively be formed from the phosphorolysis or hydrolysis of intracellular starch or glycogen. In animals , an isozyme of hexokinase called glucokinase is also used in the liver, which has a much lower affinity for glucose (K m in the vicinity of normal glycemia), and differs in regulatory properties.
Glucose syrup on a black surface. Glucose syrup, also known as confectioner's glucose, is a syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch. Glucose is a sugar. Maize (corn) is commonly used as the source of the starch in the US, in which case the syrup is called "corn syrup", but glucose syrup is also made from potatoes and wheat, and less often from barley, rice and cassava.