Carbohydrase is the name of a set ofenzymes that catalyze five types of reactions, turningcarbohydrates intosimple sugars, from the large family ofglycosidases.[1]
Carbohydrases are produced in thepancreas,salivary glands andsmall intestine, breaking downpolysaccharides. This is because complex sugars are often insoluble (such asstarch), and therefore breaking them down will make it easier for the sugars to be absorbed into the blood, through the wall of thesmall intestine. A carbohydrate is usually a compound consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrase facilitates thehydrolysis of polysaccharides into simpler sugars calledmonosaccharides.
Maltase reducesmaltose intoglucose: C12H22O11 + H2O → 2C6H12O6
Maltose +Water → α-Glucose
α-amylase breaks starch down into maltose anddextrin, by breaking down large, insoluble starch molecules into soluble starches (amylodextrin, erythrodextrin, and achrodextrin) producing successively smaller starches and ultimately maltose.
β-amylase catalyses the hydrolysis of starch into maltose by the process of removing successive maltose units from the non-reducing ends of the chains.
γ-Amylase will cleave the lastα(1–4)glycosidic linkages at the nonreducing end ofamylose andamylopectin, yielding glucose.
