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Yes. The precursor of pepsin is called pepsinogen; it is produced by stomach cells and then activated by the HCl in the stomach. Pepsin works best at very low pH.... e.g. acid conditions of the stomach.

The small intestine has glands that produce neutralize the acid. Pepsin denatures at pH's of 5,0 or higher..... so effectively it is neutralized when the chyme enters the small intestine.

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10y ago
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16y ago

The pH level is not optimal for pepsin to work

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Q: Why does pepsin not remain active in the duodenum?
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Does pepsin affect pH?

Pepsin doesn't affect the pH but it is active in an acidic environment.


What is the difference between pepsin and pepsinogen?

Pepsin is the active form of the enzyme found in the stomach that helps in the breakdown of proteins, while pepsinogen is the inactive precursor form of pepsin that is secreted by the stomach and is activated by acidic conditions to form pepsin.


Why arn't lipase and amylase secreted into the stomach with pepsin?

Lipase and amylase require an alkaline environment such as what is found in the duodenum of the small intestine. Pepsin functions in the acidic environment of the stomach.


Where in the intestine sucrase is to be the most active?

The duodenum


Why H. pylori is not destroyed by stomach acid?

Granted pepsin could kill a cell by hydrolyzing crucial proteins, it doesn't specifically destroy cells. It is a protease, a protein-digesting enzyme. There are two reasons why pepsin does not, under normal conditions, turn around and start digesting the cells of the host. Pepsin is only present in the stomach, where it is compartmentalized from the rest of the body. The mucous membrane protects the lining of the stomach so the stomach is not degraded by the enzymes or the strong hydrochloric acid. Secondly, pepsin is only active as an enzyme in very acidic environments like that of the stomach. Once the chyme of the stomach is dumped into the duodenum of the small intestine, the pH increases dramatically and the pepsin is denatured, no longer active to digest protein.


Why it is so that pepsin enzyme will not act if its active site is occupied by carbohydrate molecules?

The carbohydrate molecule should not get fitted into the pepsin enzyme.


Why would you predict the pepsin would not digest starch?

Because Pepsin is the active form of a protein manufactured in the stomach.


Why does the enzyme pepsin present in the stomach denature in the intestine?

Pepsin denatures in the intestine due to the higher pH environment compared to the stomach. Pepsin is most active at a low pH (acidic environment) in the stomach, and when it enters the higher pH environment of the intestine, its structure and function are altered. This denaturation reduces its ability to break down proteins efficiently.


Did pepsin act in absence of HCL?

Pepsin is inactive in the absence of HCl because the acidic environment is necessary to convert pepsinogen into its active form, pepsin. HCl is needed to denature proteins and activate pepsin through a process called autocatalysis.


Why can pepsin not be produced in its active form?

Pepsin is initially secreted as an inactive precursor called pepsinogen to prevent auto-digestion of the cells that produce it. Once pepsinogen is released into the acidic environment of the stomach, it is activated by hydrochloric acid to form pepsin, which can then break down proteins. This activation process ensures that pepsin only becomes active when it is in the stomach and ready to perform its digestive function.


What is the ulcer occurring in the lower portion of the esophagus stomach and duodenum caused by the breakdown of the mucosa membrane by the acid of gastric juices and pepsin?

peptic ulcer


What will happen if body just makes fully active form of enzymes?

Consider the stomach. The inactive form of the digestive enzyme pepsin is called pepsinogin. ( spelling may be wrong ) It takes the release of hydrochloric acid in the stomach to activate this pre-enzyme into pepsin, the active form. You would be digesting your own stomach tissue if pepsin was always active.