ptyalin

American  

[tahy-uh-lin] / ˈtaɪ ə lɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. an enzyme in the saliva that converts starch into dextrin and maltose.

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ptyalin British  

/ ˈtaɪəlɪn /

noun

1. biochem an amylase secreted in the saliva of man and other animals

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ptyalin Scientific  

/ tī′ə-lĭn /

1. An enzyme found in the saliva of humans and herbivorous animals that helps in the predigestion of starches. Ptyalin is a type of amylase.

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Etymology

Origin of ptyalin

1835–45; < Greek ptýal ( on ) spittle, saliva + -in ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ptyalin

With age, a digestive change definitely involving an enzyme occurs in the salivary glands : they secrete less ptyalin, an enzyme that converts starch into sugars.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is alkaline and contains a ferment called ptyalin.

From The Chemistry of Food and Nutrition by A. W. Duncan

Saliva, the characteristic secretion of this region, contains the enzyme ptyalin which exerts its influence upon the starches and dextrins.

From Dietetics for Nurses by Fairfax T. Proudfit

The saliva, which contains ptyalin, is secreted in the mouth.

From Maintaining Health Formerly Health and Efficiency by R. L. Alsaker

Among the better known of these non-vital ferments are rennet, the milk-curdling enzym; diastase or ptyalin of the saliva, the starch-converting enzym; pepsin and trypsin, the digestive ferments of the animal body.

From Outlines of Dairy Bacteriology, 8th edition A Concise Manual for the Use of Students in Dairying by H. L. (Harry Luman) Russell