Importance of Amylase

Without amylase, you wouldn't be able to digest carbohydrates.

Without amylase, you wouldn't be able to digest carbohydrates.

If you want to get energy and nutrients from what you eat, your body needs to be able to break down the food. Enzymes, including amylase, help accomplish this. However, if your blood levels of amylase are too high or too low, this could indicate serious health problems, making amylase an important diagnostic tool as well.

Amylase and Digestion

Amylase comes from both your salivary glands and your pancreas. The amylase mixed with your saliva starts to break down the carbohydrates in what you eat, a process that is finished by pancreatic amylase and other digestive enzymes once food reaches your small intestine. The glucose that results after carbohydrates are broken down completely is used by your body for energy, and it is the preferred source of energy for your brain and nervous system.

High Amylase Levels

If your amylase levels are higher than normal in your blood, either your salivary glands or your pancreatic glands may be inflamed or infected. This could be due to medical problems, such as pancreatic, ovarian or lung cancer; mumps; a perforated ulcer; blocked ducts in the pancreas; intestinal blockage; or an inflamed gallbladder.

Low Amylase Levels

Should your pancreas be badly damaged, it might not be able to produce significant amounts of amylase. Pancreatic cancer, kidney disease, preeclampsia, cystic fibrosis and liver failure can also cause low blood levels of amylase. Treating these conditions can possibly help restore your amylase levels to normal.


While abnormal amylase levels are often due to problems associated with the pancreas, this isn't always the case. Eating disorders, alcoholism, high triglyceride levels and some medications, including certain diuretics, birth control pills and aspirin, may cause high levels of amylase. High levels could also be due to a condition called macroamylasia, which is usually benign and mostly affects middle-aged men.

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