Digestive enzymes and their action

Digestive enzymes and their action


The small intestine is where most chemical digestion takes place. Most of the digestive enzymes that act in the small intestine are secreted by the pancreas and enter the small intestine via the pancreatic dust.

Digestive enzymes and their action
Name of gland	Enzyme	Acting on	Product
Salivary glands (Mouth)	Salivary amylase (Ptyalin)	Cooked starch	Maltose
Gastric glands (stomach )	Pepsin	Proteins	Peptides
	Rennin	Milk casein	Curd
Pancreas	Trypsin *	Proteins, peptides	Amino acids
	Chymotrypsin *	Proteins, peptides	Amino acids
	Carboxy peptidase *	Peptides	Amino acids
	Pancreatic amylase	Starches	Maltose
	Lipase	Lipids	Fatty acids & Glycerol
	Ribo nuclease	RNA	Ribonucleotides
	Deoxy ribonuclease	DNA	Deoxy Ribonucleotides
	Peptidases	Peptides	Aminoacids
	Sucrase	Sucrose	Fructose, Glucose
	Maltase	Maltose	Glucose
	Lactase	Lactose	Glucose, Galactose
*Together called proteases

Minerals required through diet
Elements	Functions
Micronutrients:
Chromium		Involved in glucose metabolism
Cobalt		In vitamin B12, formation of Erythrocytes
Copper		Production of Hemoglobin, Bone formation
Fluorine		Resistance to tooth decay
Iodine		In Thyroid hormone
Manganese		Activates many enzymes
Molybdenum		Required by some enzymes
Selenium		Involved in the metabolism of fat
Zinc		Involved in the physiology of insulin
Macronutrients
Calcium		In bones and teeth, in blood clotting
Chlorine		In digesting as hydrochloric acid
Iron		In Hemoglobin, Myoglobin
Magnesium		Found in bones and teeth, in many enzymes
Phosphorous		In nucleic acids, phospholipids and ATP
Potassium		Principal positive iron in cells, Nerve action
Sodium		Principal positive iron in cells, Nerve action
Sulphur		In proteins. Detoxification of toxins