Digestive enzyme

A protein that catalyzes the breakdown of food molecules into smaller products the body can absorb. Different digestive enzymes act on particular nutrients and chemical bonds.

Enzyme catalysis: The acceleration of chemical reactions by enzymes, which lower activation energy without being consumed. Digestive enzymes speed hydrolysis reactions while remaining available for further reactions.
Carbohydrate: A sugar or polymer of sugars, including starch and dietary fiber. Carbohydrate-digesting enzymes target bonds in digestible sugars and starches.
Salivary amylase: An enzyme in saliva that begins starch digestion in the mouth. It is an early example of digestion starting before food reaches the stomach.
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency: A condition in which the pancreas does not deliver enough digestive enzymes to the small intestine. Insufficient enzyme secretion can impair digestion of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
Hydrolysis: A chemical reaction that breaks a bond by adding the components of a water molecule. Most digestive enzymes split food polymers by adding water across their bonds.
Protein: A molecule made of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. Proteases digest dietary proteins by cleaving their peptide bonds.
Pepsin: A stomach protease that cleaves proteins in acidic conditions. Its activity illustrates how the stomach's acidity suits a particular digestive enzyme.
Lactose intolerance: Symptoms caused by inadequate digestion of lactose, commonly because small-intestinal lactase activity is low. It shows how reduced activity of one digestive enzyme can cause symptoms after particular foods.
Active site: The region of an enzyme where substrates bind and a catalytic reaction occurs. Its shape and chemical properties help each digestive enzyme act on particular substrates.
Lipid: A broad group of water-insoluble biological molecules that includes fats and oils. Lipases act on dietary triglycerides, a major form of fat.

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