Question

Pepsin is produced by cells lining the stomach. It catalyzes reactions needed to digest certain proteins. After leaving the stomach, food enters the small intestine. The pH of the small intestine is around 7.

What would most likely happen to pepsin enzymes that traveled with the food from the stomach to the small intestines?

Answer 1

The pepsin would become inactive.

Step-by-step explanation:

Pepsin only remains active up to a pH of about 4.8. If the pH is any higher than this, the pepsin's folds will become so distorted that its active site will no longer function. Thus, pepsin is only able to catalyze the digestion of proteins in the highly acidic environment of the stomach.

Answer 2

The pepsin would become denatured and inactivated as its optimum pH is acidic, because acidic pH is found in the stomach.