Water acts to dissolve molecules in the body. how does water dissolve the salt (nacl) in your mouth from a salty pretzel? view available hint(s) water acts to dissolve molecules in the body. how does water dissolve the salt (nacl) in your mouth from a salty pretzel? water acts as a cofactor for enzymes that dissolve the salt. when water is added to the nacl, nacl is broken down by adding oh- to one element and h+ to the other. this is known as hydrolysis. water acts as a solvent because the partial negative charge on the oxygen in water attracts sodium, while the partial positive charge on hydrogen attracts chloride. this results in the separation of sodium from chloride, thus breaking the ionic bond.