Question

Explain the role of mouth in digestion of food

Answer 1

The mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract; and, in fact, digestion starts here when taking the first bite of food. Chewing breaks the food into pieces that are more easily digested, while saliva mixes with food to begin the process of breaking it down into a form your body can absorb and use.

Answer 2

In the mouth itself, the tongue and teeth help to get the process started by chewing and chopping the food so it's small enough to be swallowed. Salivary glands secrete saliva, releasing an enzyme that changes some starches into simple sugars and softens the food for swallowing. The saliva also allows the taste buds of the tongue to sense the flavors of your foods. Swallowing is a complicated, coordinated act that begins when your tongue pushes food back into your throat or pharynx. This voluntary action sets off an involuntary chain of events that transports the food from the throat into the esophagus and down into the stomach.