Welcome to Annieâs Chamorro Kitchen! My name is Annie ~ food and I get along so well! Cooking and baking is more than a hobby for me ~ it's a passion. I come from the beautiful island of Guam, U.S.A., which is located in the beautiful southwest Pacific.
The digestion of different types of foods occurs in different areas of the digestive tract. Digestion of starch begins in the mouth with the chewing of food (mastication) and the production of amylases immediately breaking down certain starches.
Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch, converting it into sugar. There are two major types: alpha and beta. Alpha-amylase is found in human saliva, where it begins a chemical process in digestion with the hydrolysis of starch. It is also found in the pancreas. Beta-amylase is found in the seeds of some plants, as well as bacteria, yeast, and molds. Amylase is also found in other animals that use it to aid the digestive process. This enzyme begins its work in the mouth when food is chewed, breaking up the polysaccharide bonds that link together to make chains of starch molecules.