Amylase

Amylase is an enzyme (in the EC 3.2.1 group of glycoside hydrolases) that speeds the breakdown of starch and related polysaccharides by cleaving their glycosidic bonds. Chemists distinguish three principal forms. alpha-Amylase attacks bonds at more or less random points along the starch chain, yielding shorter fragments such as maltose and dextrins; beta-amylase works inward from the non-reducing end, releasing maltose two units at a time; and gamma-amylase removes single glucose units and can also break the alpha-1,6 branch points. Human digestive amylase is of the alpha type.

The enzyme has an early place in the history of biochemistry. In 1833 the French chemists Anselme Payen and Jean-Francois Persoz isolated a starch-splitting substance from malted barley and named it diastase, a discovery that helped establish the "-ase" convention still used for enzyme names. Salivary starch digestion had been described a little earlier under the name ptyalin, and pancreatic amylase was later separated from other digestive proteins.

In humans, amylase is secreted mainly by the salivary glands and the exocrine pancreas, and it is encoded by a cluster of genes on chromosome 1. The number of copies of the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) varies between people, and populations with a long history of starch-rich diets tend to carry more copies and produce more salivary enzyme, a pattern often cited as an example of recent dietary adaptation in the human genome ^[1]. Similar bursts of amylase gene duplication have arisen independently in other mammals whose diets are high in starch ^[2].

Beyond digestion, amylase has practical uses. Serum and urine amylase measurements help clinicians diagnose pancreatitis and other abdominal conditions. Salivary alpha-amylase has been studied as a non-invasive marker of activity in the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and, by extension, of physiological stress ^[3]. Industrially, amylases convert grain starch into fermentable sugars in brewing and baking, appear in some laundry and dishwashing detergents, and are sold as a component of digestive-enzyme and pancreatic-enzyme replacement products.

As a naturally occurring enzyme, amylase in its dietary-supplement form is not a controlled or prescription substance; it is generally marketed within broad-spectrum enzyme blends, while pancreatic enzyme replacement preparations that contain amylase are regulated medicines used for pancreatic insufficiency.

Very safe for most people. Excess enzyme supplementation can occasionally cause digestive upset or, rarely, allergic reactions in sensitive people. People with genuine pancreatic disease should use prescription-strength enzymes under medical guidance rather than OTC blends.