Where is maltase produced in the digestive system?

Category: medical health digestive disorders
4.5/5 (1,400 Views . 26 Votes)
During digestion, starch is partially transformed into maltose by the pancreatic or salivary enzymes called amylases; maltase secreted by the intestine then converts maltose into glucose. The glucose so produced is either utilized by the body or stored in the liver as glycogen (animal starch).



Also asked, where is maltose found in the digestive system?

Maltose (or malt sugar) is an intermediate in the intestinal digestion (i.e., hydrolysis) of glycogen and starch, and is found in germinating grains (and other plants and vegetables). It consists of two molecules of glucose in an α-(1,4) glycosidic linkage.

Secondly, what is the substrate of maltase? For amylase the substrate is amylose and amylopectin which are the components of the starch mixture, and for maltase it is the maltose sugar which is the substrate.

Subsequently, one may also ask, why is maltase important?

The important role of maltase as an enzyme in our digestive system is found when starch is being assimilated in maltose by salivary or pancreatic enzymes like amylase. Besides maltase enzymes' role as getting the healthiest parts of sugars to the body, it also helps carbohydrates digestion.

Where is lipase produced?

A small amount of lipase, called gastric lipase, is made by cells in your stomach. This enzyme specifically digests butter fat in your food. The main source of lipase in your digestive tract is your pancreas, which makes pancreatic lipase that acts in your small intestine.

39 Related Question Answers Found

What is maltose broken down into?

Maltose can be broken down to glucose by the maltase enzyme, which catalyses the hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond.

Where does maltose come from?

Maltose is made from two glucose units:
Maltose or malt sugar is the least common disaccharide in nature. It is present in germinating grain, in a small proportion in corn syrup, and forms on the partial hydrolysis of starch.

How fast does maltase work?

A single maltase enzyme can break in excess of 1,000 maltose bonds per second, and will only accept maltose molecules.

How are polysaccharide and disaccharide digested?


The polysaccharides and disaccharides are digested by various enzymes produced in the digestive tract. The polysaccharides are broken down to oligosaccharides and disaccharides which are further digested to form monosaccharides are simple sugars. Digestion of Polysaccharides.

Where are polysaccharides digested?

The digestion process of polysaccharides such as starch will begin in the mouth where it is broken down or 'hydrolysed' by salivary amylase [an enzyme in your saliva that helps to break down starches].

Do humans have Sucrase?

Digestion and Metabolism of Sucrose
Sucrose is hydrolyzed by the enzyme sucrase, an α-glucosidase in the human small intestine, to its component monosaccharides fructose and glucose. About 10–25% of the fructose is converted to glucose in the brush border of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

What enzyme breaks down starch?

Carbohydrase enzymes break down starch into sugars. The saliva in your mouth contains amylase, which is another starch digesting enzyme. If you chew a piece of bread for long enough, the starch it contains is digested to sugar, and it begins to taste sweet.

What does maltose do to your body?

More importantly is the role maltose plays in digestion. The amylase can either break the starch into individual glucose units or into the disaccharide maltose. Our body can absorb maltose, which can later be broken into individual glucose molecules and then be used as energy.

What foods contain maltase?


Several foods naturally contain maltose (2). You can find it in wheat, cornmeal, barley and several ancient grains. Many breakfast cereals also use malted grains to add natural sweetness. Fruits are another common source of maltose in the diet, especially peaches and pears.

Where is nuclease produced?

The pancreas also releases nucleases -- digestive enzymes that break nucleic acids like DNA and RNA into nucleotides, which are the building blocks of the nucleic acids. When these nucleotides reach the ileum -- the last section of the small intestine -- they are further digested into sugars, bases and phosphates.

How are enzymes named?

Enzymes are named by adding the suffix -ase to the name of the substrate that they modify (i.e., urease and tyrosinase), or the type of reaction they catalyze (dehydrogenase, decarboxylase). Some have arbitrary names (pepsin and trypsin). The apoenzyme is responsible for the enzyme's substrate specificity.

What do you mean by enzymes?

Enzyme: Proteins that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction in a living organism. An enzyme acts as catalyst for specific chemical reactions, converting a specific set of reactants (called substrates) into specific products. Without enzymes, life as we know it would not exist.

Where does the protease work?

The body produces protease in the pancreas, but the pancreas doesn't produce protease in a working condition. Instead, the protease produced in the pancreas has to be activated by another enzyme found in the intestine. Only after it is activated by the other enzyme, can the protease go to work breaking down protein.

What is a protease enzyme?


Proteolytic enzyme, also called protease, proteinase, or peptidase, any of a group of enzymes that break the long chainlike molecules of proteins into shorter fragments (peptides) and eventually into their components, amino acids.

What is the end product of starch?

Amylase hydrolyzes starch, with the primary end products being maltose, maltotriose, and a -dextrins, although some glucose is also produced.

What are the end products of digestion?

The end products of digestion process can be listed as follows: Carbohydrates like starch and disaccharides will be digested into monosaccharides like glucose, fructose and galactose. Proteins will be digested into amino acids. Fats will be digested into fatty acids and glycerol.