α-Amylase Activity Assay

Amylases hydrolyze starch and glycogen into maltose and oligosaccharides. α-Amylase is the major form of amylase that is found in humans. It is a calcium metallo-enzyme and is found in various tissues and body fluids including saliva, pancreatic juice, and blood. Its activity is commonly measured to assess the digestive function and diagnose various pathological conditions such as salivary gland trauma or inflammation, mumps, pancreatitis and renal failure. AkrivisBio’s α-Amylase Activity Assay is a simple, sensitive means of measuring amylase activity in various sample types. In the assay, amylase cleaves the artificial substrate, ethylidene-pNP-G7 to small oligosaccharides. The oligosaccharides are subsequently hydrolyzed by α-glucosidase to release nitrophenol, which is measured at absorbance 405 nm. The kit can detect amylase activity at levels below 1 mU.