Science Reference

Saliva

Saliva is the watery and usually somewhat frothy substance produced in the mouths of some animals, including humans.

Produced in salivary glands, saliva is 98% water, but it contains many important substances, including electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and various enzymes.

The digestive functions of saliva include moistening food, and helping to create a food bolus, so it can be swallowed easily.

Saliva contains the enzyme amylase that breaks some starches down into maltose and dextrin.

Thus, digestion of food occurs within the mouth, even before food reaches the stomach..

For more information about the topic Saliva, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Saliva at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.

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