Biology of Business

Biochemistry

Amylase

By Alex Denne

An enzyme that breaks down complex starches into simple sugars your body can actually use. The bridge between stored energy and available energy.

Used in the Books

This term appears in 1 chapter:

Growth Stages Germination

"In cereal grains like barley and wheat, gibberellins signal the aleurone layer (a protein-rich tissue) to produce amylase enzymes (proteins that break down starch into sugars). In bean and pea seeds, the cotyledons themselves produce enzymes to mobilize stored proteins a..."

Biological Context

Salivary amylase begins carbohydrate digestion in the mouth, breaking starch into maltose and dextrin within seconds of food contact. Pancreatic amylase continues the process in the small intestine. Germinating seeds produce amylase to convert stored starch into glucose for growth—timing this conversion precisely to fuel emergence. Different amylases target different starch bonds (alpha-1,4 vs alpha-1,6 linkages), enabling complete breakdown. Amylases constitute roughly 25% of the global industrial enzyme market.

Related Terms

Enzyme Catabolism Metabolism

Related Mechanisms

Resource Allocation Autophagy

Tags

biochemistryenzymesdigestionconversion

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