Redbud trees belong to the genus Cercis, which includes deciduous trees from North America, Asia and the Mediterranean area. The leaves on redbuds are heart-shaped and produce fiery fall colors in red and yellow. The flowers are typically bright and range from pale pink to purple and magenta.
Digestion of starch and other carbohydrates begins in the mouth with an enzyme called salivary amylase.
Dietary lactose and sucrose are ready for digestion by their respective brush border enzymes. Starch, as discussed previously, is first digested to maltose by amylase in pancreatic secretions and, in some species, saliva. glucose generated by digestion of starch or lactose is absorbed in the small intestine only by cotransport with sodium, a fact that has exceptionally important implications in medicine.