When food passes to the small intestine, the remainder of the starch molecules are catalyzed mainly to maltose by pancreatic amylase. This step in starch digestion occurs in the first section of the small intestine (the duodenum), the region into which the pancreatic juices empty.

Where does amylase breakdown starch?

Amylase is a digestive enzyme that chewing activates and which hydrolyzes or breaks downs starch into monosaccharides. Amylase breaks down starch in your mouth into a maltose, a disaccharide, which is made up of two glucose molecules.

Where does the starch break down?

Starch breaks down to shorter glucose chains. This process starts in the mouth with salivary amylase. The process slows in the stomach and then goes into overdrive in the small intestines. The short glucose chains are broken down to maltose and then to glucose.