Why is maintaining a specific pH crucial for digestive enzymes in the human stomach?
To ensure the correct shape and activity of enzymes like pepsin
Enzymes are proteins whose three-dimensional shape determines their ability to bind to a substrate at the active site.
Each enzyme works best within a narrow pH range; pepsin, for instance, is most active in the highly acidic environment of the stomach, around pH 1.5 to 2.
A change in pH away from this optimum can alter the enzyme's shape, reducing or destroying its activity.
Hence, a specific pH is maintained in the stomach to keep enzymes like pepsin in their correct shape and fully active.
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