Chewing mechanically breaks down food into smaller particles, increasing its surface area for enzymatic action. This process also mixes the food thoroughly with saliva, ensuring the even distribution of digestive enzymes and promoting effective digestion.

Salivary amylase is an enzyme present in saliva that catalyzes the breakdown of starch molecules into simpler sugars, facilitating their digestion.

Saliva helps wet the food, making its passage through the digestive tract smoother. Additionally, saliva contains enzymes like salivary amylase, which begins the breakdown of complex molecules like starch into simpler sugars.

Organisms that ingest whole material typically have specialized digestive systems that break down the food internally through processes like mechanical digestion and enzymatic degradation, allowing nutrients to be absorbed and utilized.

Parasitic nutritive strategy involves deriving nutrition from other organisms without killing them. Examples include parasites such as the cuscuta (amar-bel), ticks, lice, leeches, and tapeworms, which feed off the host organism’s resources without necessarily causing immediate death.