Which of the following statements is not true about carbohydrate digestion?

Question

• There is an enzyme in saliva that begins the chemical digestion of carbohydrates.
• Carbohydrate digestion breaks polysaccharides into smaller units.
• Disaccharides like sucrose do not need to be further broken down before being absorbed.
The enzyme secreted in the mouth to begin chemical digestion of carbohydrates is not active in the

Answer 1

The statement that is not true about carbohydrate digestion is:

"Disaccharides like sucrose do not need to be further broken down before being absorbed."

This statement is incorrect because disaccharides must be broken down into monosaccharides (like glucose and fructose) before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Enzymes, such as maltase, sucrase, and lactase, are responsible for this further breakdown of disaccharides into their constituent monosaccharides.

As for the last part of your question regarding the enzyme secreted in the mouth, the salivary enzyme amylase that begins the digestion of carbohydrates is not active in the acidic environment of the stomach. Thus, carbohydrate digestion predominantly ends in the stomach until it resumes in the small intestine, where pancreatic amylase takes over again.