Chapter 10, Problem 10.90AP

Summary Introduction

To explain:

The fact that why pepsin has a very high catalytic activity at $\text{pH}$ 1.5 but chymotrypsin has a very little activity at $\text{pH}$ 1.5.

Introduction:

Each enzyme has its optimal $\text{pH}$ in which they work. Pepsin is a proteolytic enzyme that acts on protein and digest protein into simpler fragments of peptides. The optimum $\text{pH}$ for pepsin is 1.5-2.0.

Chymotrypsin is a protein hydrolyzing enzyme found in small intestine that breaks down the protein components of diet. The optimal $\text{pH}$ of chymotrypsin enzyme is 7.7-8.0 and is most active at $\text{pH}$ 7.8.