Saliva has two main uses. First by moistening food as you chew it, it makes the food into a nice slurry that can easily slide down the esophagus when you swallow it. Dry food would be much scratchier on the throat. Secondly, saliva contains a digestive enzyme which begins the process of digesting complex carbohydrates into easily absorbed sugar.
The study of saliva is called sialology or sialometry. It involves analyzing the composition, production, and functions of saliva in the human body.
To give you mono gosh
As in most mammals, the saliva in a pig functions to both moisten ingesta and to start breaking down sugars through the actions of amylase in the saliva.
If this question contains to the pH factor, then no. Saliva is slightly acidic. With common functions, such as burping, vomiting, and just plain old digestion, saliva is slightly acidic due to the acid in the stomach.
Chemical digestion begins in the mouth with the secretion of saliva from three pairs of salivary glands. Saliva contains the digestive enzyme salivary amylase.
The major and minor salivary glands produce saliva. Saliva has many functions, including lubrication of food, digestion, protection against microorganisms, etc.
The basic function of saliva is to moisten and Lubricate food. Saliva also contains salivary amylase which breaks the covalent bonds between glucose molecules in starch and other polysaccharides to produce the disaccharides maltose and isomaltose.
Saliva does two main functions. The most obvious is that the salivary solution softens food, enabling it to be cut into pieces small enough to be swallowed. Saliva also contains amylase, an enzyme responsible for the break-down of starch.
None, there is no acid in mosquito saliva. There are 20 polypeptides (smal proteins) in mosquito saliva, these have different functions that are still not fully understood, but it is these proteins (and other antigens) that cause the itching and inflammation.
Not really, because when you dribble, you are losing saliva. The salivary glands are essential to many functions in the body.
The release of insulin by the pancreas is an endocrine function. The release of sweat and saliva are exocrine functions.
Saliva moistens food particles, helps bind them, and begins the chemical digestion of carbohydrates. Also solvent, it dissolves foods so they can be tasted.