Tag: Peptidases

Intestinal juice, also known as succus entericus, plays a pivotal role in the final stage of protein digestion, a process that begins in the stomach. It works in concert with pancreatic juice and bile to complete the breakdown of complex protein molecules into their simplest, absorbable forms: amino acids. The effect of intestinal juice on protein is a finely tuned enzymatic process essential for nutrient absorption.

Over 90% of dietary protein is absorbed as amino acids, dipeptides, and tripeptides in the small intestine after a multi-stage digestive process. While gastric and pancreatic enzymes do the initial heavy lifting, it is a specific set of brush border enzymes that perform the critical final step of cleaving small peptide fragments into single amino acids, which can then be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Over 500 different types of proteases, the primary enzymes that act on proteins, are encoded by the human genome alone, highlighting their critical role in biology. These powerful protein catalysts are essential for everything from digesting food to regulating complex cellular processes.

Over 90% of ingested protein is broken down into its amino acid monomers for absorption. The enzymes that break down proteins into individual amino acids are known as proteases or proteolytic enzymes, and they are essential for human digestion, nutrient absorption, and numerous other bodily functions.