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

Thus, while the mother feeds her child upon a diet which it is not yet prepared to deal with, she supplies from her own mouth the necessary moisture, warmth and ptyalin for making it digestible.

From The Fijians A Study of the Decay of Custom by Thomson, Basil

The saliva owes its peculiarity to one of its components, called ptyalin.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 34, August, 1860 by Various

The saliva contains ptyalin, a ferment converting starch into sugar, and it also serves to moisten the food as it is ground up by the cheek teeth.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

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 Proudfit, Fairfax T.