Term: amylase
Literally
meaning: “the
enzyme that catalyses starch ”
Origin: Anc Greek
άμυλον/amylon(=starch) >α/a(privative, “not”) + μύλη/myle(=millstone) because this hydrocarbonate
(eg from potatoes) was not ground at the mill as bread flour but it was ground by
hand using water or milk.
+(-άση)/(-asy)(=-ase) enzyme suffix added to the
name of the substrate that the enzyme
hydrolyzes eg proteinase for protein or lipase for lipids
>διά-/dia-(=prefix denoting “through”, “apart” )
> δυο/dio(two) + στάσις/stasis(=halt)
> ίστημι/histimi(=stand).
Coined/History
In 1826 Tiedemann and Gmelin observed that the
stomachs of geese fed solely on a starch diet contained sugar. This notion
helped Leuchs in 1831 to discover the amylase of saliva. Berzelius named the
enzyme “ptyalin” in 1840. In 1833 Payen
and Persoz performed an ethanol precipitation and isolated a white, watr
soluble substance from germinating barley which named “diastase”. Diastase was
later renamed amylase.
Definition
Amylase is the enzyme that catalyses the break down of
starch into sugars. Specific amylase proteins are designated by different Greek
letters eg a-amylase is for the breakdown of large alpha-linked
polysaccharides, such as starch and glycogen.
α-Amylase is a protein enzyme EC 3.2.1.1 that hydrolyses alpha bonds of large, alpha-linked polysaccharides, such as starch and glycogen, yielding glucose and maltose. It is the major form of amylase found in Humans and other mammals. It is also present in seeds containing starch as a food reserve, and is secreted by many fungi.
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