Cambridge O Level Biology · Syllabus 5090 · Human Nutrition
Amylase
What is Amylase?
A digestive enzyme that breaks down starch into maltose. It is produced by the salivary glands, where it acts in the mouth, and by the pancreas, where it acts in the small intestine. It does not produce glucose: a second enzyme, maltase, is needed to break maltose into glucose.
This definition is part of the Human Nutrition chapter in Cambridge O Level Biology.
Common mistakes with Amylase
- “Amylase turns starch into glucose.” Why it is wrong Amylase produces maltose. A second enzyme, maltase, is needed to break maltose into glucose. The destination is right but a whole enzyme has been skipped. Write instead "Amylase breaks starch into maltose; maltase then breaks maltose into glucose."
- “Enzymes are made where they act.” Why it is wrong Pancreatic amylase is made in the pancreas and acts in the small intestine; bile is made in the liver and acts in the duodenum. Questions ask for both columns precisely because they differ. Write instead "Amylase is produced by the salivary glands and the pancreas, and acts in the mouth and the small intestine."
Questions students ask about Amylase
Does amylase produce glucose?
No. Amylase breaks starch down into maltose. A second enzyme, maltase, is then needed to break maltose into glucose. Writing that amylase produces glucose skips a real enzyme and a real step, and it is the most common single error in this topic.
Last reviewed Syllabus 2026-2028