Question

Give reasons for the following statement:

Digestion starts in the mouth.

Answer 1

Mouth:

1. Food is taken into the body by mouth which opens to a small chamber called buccal cavity.
2. Digestion starts in the mouth itself.
3. In mouth, there are three pairs of salivary glands which secrete saliva.
4. The food in mouth is chewed by teeth and mixed with saliva.
5. Saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase which converts starch into maltose.
6. The semi-digested food in mouth will form a ball-like structure called bolus.