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What does pancreatic amylase do to complex carbohydrates?

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A biochemical flowchart shows the metabolic pathways for carbohydrate utilization, including glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The diagram traces the conversion of glucose, fructose, and glycerol through various intermediates, leading to energy production, carbon dioxide release, and biosynthesis of amino acids and porphyrins. Key steps and branches are labeled, with colored boxes highlighting biosynthetic outputs. — Carbohydrate Pathways for the utilization of carbohydrates.

Pancreatic amylase is an enzyme secreted by the pancreas into the duodenum, which is the first section of the small intestine.1

Its primary function is to catalyze the hydrolysis—the splitting of a compound by adding a water molecule—of complex carbohydrate molecules, specifically starch, into smaller units, mainly maltose. While ptyalin (salivary amylase) begins the breakdown of starches in the mouth, pancreatic amylase acts upon the remaining starch molecules once they reach the small intestine. These resulting maltose molecules are subsequently broken down by other enzymes into glucose, which the body can then absorb through the intestinal wall.1