Final answer:
Salivary amylase is an enzyme in saliva that breaks down carbohydrates, not fats. Bile, produced by the liver, is the substance that emulsifies fats in the small intestine by forming micelles, easing their digestion by pancreatic lipase.
Step-by-step explanation:
Organic Molecule Digestion and Salivary Amylase
The digestion of organic molecules begins in the mouth where salivary amylase is present in saliva. This enzyme plays a crucial role in kickstarting the digestive process by breaking down carbohydrates such as amylose and glycogen into smaller sugar molecules like glucose and maltose. Despite the typo in the student's question, it is important to clarify that salivary amylase does not emulsify fats, as the answer provided suggests. The substance responsible for the emulsification of fats is bile, which is produced by the liver and assists in fat digestion by breaking down large globules of lipids into smaller micelles in the small intestine. This action increases the surface area available for another enzyme, pancreatic lipase, to further break down lipids into fatty acids.
Bile plays a critical role by emulsifying fats, enabling the thorough digestion and eventual absorption of fatty acids. The emulsification process by bile is similar to how dish detergent disperses grease, allowing for a more efficient action by digestive enzymes on fats. Comparatively, salivary amylase exclusively targets carbohydrates for digestion and does not have the capability to act on fats.