Salivary Amylase. Salivary amylase initiates the digestion of starches, one of the more complex forms of carbohydrate. Secreted in the saliva, salivary amylase breaks down long-chain and branched carbohydrates, known as amylose and amylopectin, into two- and three-molecule sugars called maltose. The individual subunits that make up maltose are glucose, your bodyâs primary fuel source.
Aspirin has many effects because it reduces the bodyâs production of prostaglandins, a hormone-like substance that acts in numerous ways. Reducing prostaglandins diminishes pain and fever and weakens plateletsâ ability to stick together and form clots.
Aspirin should not be given to children under 12, or to any children and teenagers who display symptoms of the flu or chickenpox. This is because aspirin can cause a condition called Reye's syndrome, which affects the nervous system and the liver and can be lethal. Indeed, up to 30 percent of children and teenagers with Reye's syndrome die, and survivors may have life-long brain damage.