Early in the digestive process, a digestive enzyme found in saliva called ptyalin breaks down large starch molecules. It’s unable to break down proteins.

Digestion of protein is a tricky business because you don’t want to digest the wall of the GI system in the process. Explain how the GI system gets proteolytic enzymes activated without digesting itself.

Digestive Enzymes Digestive enzymes are protein-based biological catalysts that have important roles in our lives. They help remove stains from our clothing, turn milk into cheese, and are responsible for turning our dinner into usable fuel for our bodies. Enzymes, however, do not work well universally. Some are meant to work at high temperatures, others at low temperatures. They may work best in acidic conditions or neutral conditions. In this activity, the optimal conditions for two different digestive enzymes will be considered. Lipase is made in the pancreas and breaks down lipids in the small intestine. Pepsin breaks down proteins in the stomach. triglycerides polypeptides Enzymes and Cellular Regulation Rate of reaction a. pepsin b. lipase lipase pepsin glycerol + fatty acids PH small peptides + amino acids Effect of pH on Enzyme Activity 8 10 12 14 Pepsin (stomach) -Lipase 1. In which body organ is pepsin active? 2. In which body organ is pancreatic lipase active? 3. For each…

Amylase is an enzyme found in saliva that is capable of breaking down starch into glucose molecules for metabolism. Humans have amylase in their saliva, and it is considered one of the first metabolic processes we carry out in digestion. When we consume some starchy foods, they often begin to taste sweet with chewing as the glucose sugars begin to be released by the amylase reaction with starch. In the following image, we tested a students saliva for the presence of amylase.   Step 1: A starch solution was added to each of the three test tubes. Step 2: From left to right in the picture

The final digestive step for carbohydrates and proteins is performed by what?

A deficiency of even one amino acid results in a negative nitrogen balance. In this state, more protein is degraded than is synthesized, and so more nitrogen is excreted than is ingested. Why would protein be degraded if one amino acid were missing?