Question

Although 'Pepsin' and "Trypsin' are both protein digesting enzymes yet they differ from each other. Justify this statement by giving one difference between them.

Answer 1

Pepsin and Trypsin are protein-digesting enzymes, although they have different optimum pH ranges:

• Optimal pH Range:
  1. Pepsin: Pepsin is active in the stomach's acidic environment. The ideal pH range for activity is 1.5 to 2.5. Acidic circumstances in the stomach activate pepsinogen, the inactive precursor, resulting in active pepsin.
  2. Trypsin: Trypsin requires an alkaline environment in the small intestine to operate correctly. The ideal pH range is 7 to 9. The enzyme enterokinase activates trypsinogen, the inactive form of trypsin, in the small intestine due to its higher pH.
     The optimum pH of enzymes varies depending on their surroundings during digestion. Pepsin breaks down proteins into smaller peptides in the acidic stomach, while trypsin digests peptides into amino acids in the alkaline small intestine.