Explain the role of mouth in digestion of food.

Explanation

Mouth plays following roles in digestion of food:
(i) Food is broken down into smaller pieces by the teeth so that it becomes easier to swallow the food.
(ii) Smaller particles also confirm that saliva is properly mixed with the food. It mixes with saliva and the enzyme amylase (found in saliva) breaks down starch into sugars.
(iii) Tongue plays the important role of thorough mixing of foods with saliva.
(iv) Digestion of starch takes place in the mouth.