2008-61213 DATE OF SUBMISSION: 20 SEPT. 2012GROUP NO. 2 DATE OF SUBMITTED: 20 SEPT. 2012

EXPERIMENT NO. 11DIGESTION IN THE MOUTH

ABSTRACT

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Complex foods that are taken in must undergo specific changes in order to attain an absorbable form. Two types of activity are involved in the preparation of food for absorption, namely, mechanical and chemical (Chaffee & Greisheimer, 1975; Tortora & Anagnostakos, 1990). During the digestion of food in the mouth, both mechanical and chemical activities occur.

Accordingly, the first secretion encountered by food being eaten is saliva (Chaffee &Greisheimer, 1975; Sherwood, 2010). It consists of the mixture of the secretions of the three pairs of salivary glands, as well as mucus and cells from the surface epithelium of the mouth.

In Table 1, results of various qualitative tests administered on the saliva sample were presented. The tests were done in order to determine the composition of the saliva sample.

Table 1. Measured pH and results of Molisch, Millon, and Biuret tests for saliva sample.

Tests ResultspH 7

Molisch + (positive)Millon + (positive)Biuret + (positive)

Based on the tabulated observations,

Table 2. Results of Benedict's and Molisch test for saliva sample under varied temperatures.

Temperature Benedict’s Test Molisch Test4°C - (negative) - (negative)

25°C + (positive) + (positive)40°C + (positive) + (positive)90°C - (negative) - (negative)

Table 3.

Temperature Change Benedict’s Test Molisch Test4°C-40°C + (positive) + (positive)

90°C-40°C + (positive) + (positive)

REFERENCES