Amylase inhibits Neisseria gonorrhoeae by degrading starch in the growth medium.

Highly purified salivary alpha-amylase inhibited the growth of fresh isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae on GC agar base medium supplemented with 2% IsoVitaleX (BBL Microbiology Systems). Hydrolysis of starch in the medium by amylase resulted in a negative starch-iodine test. However, purified amylase did not inhibit gonococcal growth on agar plates that contained hemoglobin (chocolate agar). This effect was not caused by inhibition of amylase, since amylase activity was the same in the presence or absence of blood products. Moreover, survival of N. gonorrhoeae in buffered saline was not affected by amylase. These results suggest that amylase inhibited the growth of N. gonorrhoeae on GC agar base plates by hydrolyzing starch.