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Definition of "ptyalin" []

  • A form of amylase in the saliva of humans and some animals that catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch into maltose and dextrin. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "ptyalin" in a sentence
  • "As the sign put it at the booth for Dogfish Head -- Delaware's ever-experimental and envelope-pushing brewery -- Chicha is "a traditional Peruvian corn beer brewed with molle tree seeds, strawberries, and organic purple corn that we chewed to allow the ptyalin enzyme in our saliva [to] convert starch into sugar pre-boil.""
  • "Humans: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains"
  • "Herbivores: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains"
Words like "ptyalin"