The Effect of Exercise on Alpha Amylase Activity

By Valeria Hernandez, Javier Rivera, Jordan Romero, Daniel Bautista, Jenna McLaughlin, and Jesse Ortega

Abstract:

Alpha amylase, the enzyme that is prevalent in the saliva excreted from our salivary glands is responsible for the hydrolysis of the glycosidic linkages found in starch. In this study we were to find if there was a positive correlation between strenuous exercise and alpha amylase activity. As with other metabolic processes in our body, an increase in exercise facilitates an increase on catabolizing processes. Therefore, to assume that alpha amylase activity would increase with strenuous exercise was what our study aimed to achieve. Saliva samples were taken from participants before and after our defined exercise. The samples were then put into a starch-iodine solution and absorbance was analyzed using a spectrophotometer. Our results showed that alpha amylase activity decreased after our participants were subjected to a controlled exercise which contradicted our hypothesis that predicted an increase in alpha amylase activity with strenuous exercise.

Introduction:

As many would recommend, exercise stimulates many processes in the human body. From the burning of calories to the subsequent stabilization of blood pressure, it is to no surprise that exercise could lead to an increase in the metabolic activity of the enzyme alpha amylase on its corresponding substrate. Thus, strenuous exercise could have a subsequent increase in the amount of alpha amylase produced, which is what we aim to prove by conducting this experiment. While a temporary increase in alpha amylase activity from exercise might seem like a miniscule result, those suffering from amylase deficiency could benefit by adding in exercise prior to consuming carbohydrates.

A previous experiment by Mohammad A. Azarbayjani et al. shows that saliva, the main habitat of this enzyme, increases during the participation of exercises such as football, thus causing us to predict an increase in amylase activity as well. By conducting an experiment on the effect exercise has on salivary amylase activity, we hope to find a directly proportional correlation between the two variables. According to an experiment by Walsh et al. (1999), the alpha-amylase activity increased significantly after exercise, while alpha-amylase levels were at the lowest levels pre-exercise. This was seen to go back to normal levels two and a half hours past the exercise time (Walsh et al. 1999). Would the same result occur from a short period of strenuous exercise instead of a prolonged period of intermittent exercise? By shortening the time

we hope to reduce the amount of confounding variables in order to prove that exercise is the direct cause for an increase in alpha-amylase activity.

The approach we took to answer our question was to conduct an experiment that tested the difference in amylase activity before and after a student participated in 30 seconds of jumping rope. Attaining samples of student’s saliva before and after exercise allowed us to test the absorption of light of a previously made starch iodine solution. After adding a drop of saliva to the starch iodine solution and putting it through a spectrophotometer, which allowed us to read the absorbance at 580 nm. A higher absorbance rate means that there is a higher amount of the starch iodine solution present in the sample. Since alpha amylase is responsible for breaking down starch, a higher absorption rate will mean a lower activity of the alpha amylase enzyme because the enzyme is not breaking down enough starch. A comparison of the data collected before and after the exercise will allow us to determine whether there is a difference. We believe this approach will help us answer our question because the previous experiments related to our topic also measured the participant’s amylase activity before and after an exercise was performed. When we have the data from the experiment, we will be able to see if exercise has a direct correlation in amylase production or if there is no change.

Discussion:

The results of this experiment show that amylase levels decreased after exercise, disproving our hypothesis. The original hypothesis was that a participant’s alpha amylase would increase after a strenuous activity, but the final conclusion correlates with our null hypothesis. The results of this experiment were unexpected because it went against our hypothesis and previous experiments. Also, one of the initial absorbance values was zero. This data discrepancy may be due to procedural error.

Similar studies showed that exercise increases amylase activity while this experiment showed that amylase activity decreased. These differences could be because the activity our subjects undertook was thirty seconds while the other studies had a longer duration of exercise. Future experiments that would expand on our findings would include similar studies except the length and type of exercise would be manipulated.