pepsin

American  

[pep-sin] / ˈpɛp sɪn /

Or pepsine

noun

Biochemistry.

1. an enzyme, produced in the stomach, that in the presence of hydrochloric acid splits proteins into proteoses and peptones.

2. a commercial form of this substance, obtained from the stomachs of hogs, used as a digestive, as a ferment in the manufacture of cheese, etc.

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pepsin British  

/ ˈpɛpsɪn /

noun

1. a proteolytic enzyme produced in the stomach in the inactive form pepsinogen, which, when activated by acid, splits proteins into peptones

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pepsin Scientific  

/ pĕp′sĭn /

1. Any of various digestive enzymes found in vertebrate animals that catalyze the hydrolysis of proteins to peptides.

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Etymology

Origin of pepsin

1835–45; < Greek péps ( is ) digestion ( pep-, base of péptein to digest + -sis -sis ) + -in ²

Example Sentences

For example, trypsin, an enzyme in the human small intestine, works most efficiently at pH 8, whereas pepsin in the stomach works best under acidic conditions.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The enzyme pepsin plays an important role in the digestion of proteins by breaking down the intact protein to peptides, which are short chains of four to nine amino acids.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Pepsin breaks peptide bonds and cleaves proteins into smaller polypeptides; it also helps activate more pepsinogen, starting a positive feedback mechanism that generates more pepsin.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This protects the chief cells, because pepsinogen does not have the same enzyme functionality of pepsin.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The soft drink had been named for the digestive enzyme pepsin, he sagely told us, and so was suited to the task.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides