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Pepsin / ˈ p ɛ p s ɪ n / is an endopeptidase that breaks down proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids. It is one of the main digestive enzymes in the digestive systems of humans and many other animals, where it helps digest the proteins in food. Pepsin is an aspartic protease, using a catalytic aspartate in its active site. [2]
Pepsin breaks down the protein in the food into smaller particles, such as peptide fragments and amino acids. Protein digestion, therefore, primarily starts in the stomach, unlike carbohydrate and lipids, which start their digestion in the mouth (however, trace amounts of the enzyme kallikrein , which catabolises certain protein, is found in ...
In molecular biology, protein catabolism is the breakdown of proteins into smaller peptides and ultimately into amino acids. Protein catabolism is a key function of digestion process. Protein catabolism often begins with pepsin , which converts proteins into polypeptides.
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body.
This releases carbohydrates, protein, fat, and various vitamins and minerals for absorption into the body. Overview of vertebrate digestion In most vertebrates , digestion is a multistage process in the digestive system, starting from ingestion of raw materials, most often other organisms.
Gastric chief cells are generally located deep in the mucosal layer of the stomach lining, in the fundus and body of the stomach. [2] [3] Chief cells release the zymogen (enzyme precursor) pepsinogen when stimulated by a variety of factors including cholinergic activity from the vagus nerve and acidic condition in the stomach.
Their secretions make up the digestive gastric juice. The gastric glands open into gastric pits in the mucosa. The gastric mucosa is covered in surface mucous cells that produce the mucus necessary to protect the stomach's epithelial lining from gastric acid secreted by parietal cells in the glands, and from pepsin, a secreted digestive enzyme ...
The breakdown of protein begins in the stomach through the actions of hydrochloric acid, and the enzyme pepsin. The stomach can also produce gastric lipase , which can help digesting fat. The contents of the stomach are completely emptied into the duodenum within two to four hours after the meal is eaten.