Question

Which of the following organs does not produce any digestive enzymes?
A. Salivary gland
B. Pancreas
C. Liver
D. Stomach

Answer 1

Hint: Digestive enzymes are enzymes that break complex carbohydrates, fat, proteins and nucleic acids into its simple forms such as glucose, galactose, amino acids, fatty acids and glycerol which are easily absorbed by the blood. Bile juice is secreted by the liver.

Complete step by step answer: Digestive enzymes play the role of speeding up the process of digestion. Saliva contains a digestive enzyme called salivary amylase which is also secreted by other organs such as stomach, pancreas and small intestine. The liver does not secrete any enzyme, rather it secretes bile juice which is stored in the gallbladder for concentration and transportation to the duodenum of the small intestine. Bile juice performs two main functions that involve digestion and absorption of fats and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins in the small intestine. Bile juice contains bile salts secreted by hepatocytes, which mainly help in absorption of fat-soluble vitamins eg vitamins A, D, E and K. Bile also contains bile acids, cholesterol, water, electrolytes, phospholipids and bile pigments such as bilirubin and biliverdin. Main digestive enzymes are:
i. Amylase: It helps in carbohydrate digestion and is mainly secreted by saliva and pancreas. It breaks up starch into simple sugars
ii. Maltase: It breaks down maltose into simple sugars (glucose) which can be absorbed by the body. It is secreted by the small intestine. Glucose formed is used by the body or stored as glycogen in the liver.
iii. Lactase: It helps in breaking down lactose present mainly in dairy products into simple sugar glucose and galactose.
iv. Lipase: It is produced in large amounts by the pancreas and in small amounts by mouth and stomach. It helps in the breakdown of complex fats into glycerol and fatty acid.
v. Protease: It helps in protein digestion and includes pepsin, trypsin, chymotrypsin and carboxypeptidase are produced by stomach and pancreas. Hence option C is correct Liver doesn’t produce any digestive enzymes.
Hence, the correct answer is option C.

Note: The process of digestion occurs in the mouth where the food is broken down mechanically and chemically. The starch present in the food is broken down into disaccharides by salivary amylase secreted by the salivary glands. The bolus is then passed onto the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and ultimately the large intestine.