Gastrointestinal Physiology: Enzymes

Key points

• Amylase is present in saliva and pancreatic secretions. It breaks starch down into sugar The following brush border enzymes are involved in the breakdown of carbohydrates:
• maltase: cleaves disaccharide maltose to glucose + glucose
• sucrase: cleaves sucrose to fructose and glucose
• lactase: cleaves disaccharide lactose to glucose + galactose