Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of a group of enzymes that are present in saliva, pancreatic juice, and parts of plants and catalyze the hydrolysis of starch to sugar to produce carbohydrate derivatives.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A ferment which will convert starch into dextrose: it occurs widely distributed in both the animal and the vegetable world. Same as diastase or amylolytic ferment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biochemistry Any of a class of digestive enzymes, present in saliva, that break down complex carbohydrates such as starch into simpler sugars such as glucose.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of a group of proteins found in saliva and pancreatic juice and parts of plants; help convert starch to sugar

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Alpha-amylase is secreted into saliva by the parotid gland, the largest of the salivary glands.

    NIH Finds Stress May Delay Women Getting Pregnant The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • The sprouting barley seedlings can provide an enzyme called amylase that breaks down starch into maltose a sugar.

    Evolution of alcohol synthesis - The Panda's Thumb 2005

  • Dr. Shaw has found that the enzyme amylase, which is present in human saliva, rises in sleep-deprived flies.

    Stopping Sleepiness Andrea Petersen 2012

  • Beans contain phytonutrients called amylase inhibitors, which block the action of the enzyme amylase needed to digest starches.

    Forever Young M.D. Nicholas Perricone 2010

  • Egg yolks contain a starch-digesting enzyme, amylase, that is remarkably resistant to heat.

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

  • Egg yolks contain a starch-digesting enzyme, amylase, that is remarkably resistant to heat.

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

  • In those malts the enzyme (called amylase) has been deactivated by heat so you get the flavor but you don't get runny milk shakes!

    10: Food science 1996

  • There are several other USDA decisions on modified crops coming soon, Vilsack said, including on modified sugar beets and corn amylase, which is made to produce ethanol fuel.

    Breaking News: CBS News 2011

  • The volunteers were given at-home fertility test kits to track their monthly cycles, and on the sixth day they collected saliva samples that were tested for the stress hormone cortisol and for alpha-amylase, which is secreted when the nervous system produces catecholamines, which initiate another stress response.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed 2010

  • The volunteers were given at-home fertility test kits to track their monthly cycles, and on the sixth day they collected saliva samples that were tested for the stress hormone cortisol and for alpha-amylase, which is secreted when the nervous system produces catecholamines, which initiate another stress response.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Roni Caryn Rabin 2010

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