GENERAL HISTOLOGY

SMALL INTESTINE

BODY OF STOMACH

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Enzymes in the stomach work best in ____ conditions.
A
Acidic
B
Alkaline
C
Either A or B
D
None of the above
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -pH: Enzymes are sensitive to acidity and alkalinity. They don’t work properly if an environment is too acidic or basic. For example, an enzyme in the stomach called pepsin breaks down proteins. If your stomach doesn’t have enough acid, pepsin can’t function optimally.

Detailed explanation-2: -Pepsin works in the highly acidic conditions of the stomach. It has an optimum pH of about 1.5. On the other hand, trypsin works in the small intestine, parts of which have a pH of around 7.5.

Detailed explanation-3: -In general, an enzyme has an optimum pH. Although most enzymes remain high activity in the pH range between 6 and 8, some specific enzymes work well only in extremely acidic (i.e. pH <5.0) or alkaline (i.e. pH >9.0) conditions.

Detailed explanation-4: -It’s highly acidic and helps break down food for easier digestion. This helps your body absorb nutrients more easily as food moves through your digestive tract. In order to break down everything from meat to tough, fibrous plants, stomach acid has to be highly acidic.

Detailed explanation-5: -The reason pepsin functions best at pH 2 is because the carboxylic acid group on the amino acid in the enzyme’s active site must be in its protonated state, meaning bound to a hydrogen atom. At low pH the carboxylic acid group is protonated, which allows it to catalyze the chemical reaction of breaking chemical bonds.

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