What is the role of HCl in digestion?
1 Answer
Apr 19, 2017
The role of
Explanation:
-
When the bolus enters the stomach, the contraction and expansion of the muscles of the wall of the stomach bring about churning movement with the help of
#"HCl"# present in the gastric juice. -
In the presence of
#"HCl"# , pepsinogen gets converted into its active form i.e. pepsin that hydrolyzes protein into peptides. -
In infants, in presence of
#"HCl"# , rennin gets activated into form i.e. prorennin that hydrolyses the soluble milk protein casein into paracasein. -
Gastric juice also secretes lipase enzyme that converts small amounts of fat into monoglycerides and fatty acids because the enzyme is sensitive to free acid and is destroyed by
#"HCl"# .
