Recognize the various enzymes in human digestion and their functions

Have you ever wondered how food is digested in the body after you are full? The process of digesting food in the body involves a series of organs that are controlled by the nervous system and assisted by a group of digestive enzymes.

Digestion with the help of enzymes (enzymatic) actually already occurs in the mouth. The refined food is digested back in the stomach and the results are sent to the intestine. During this series of processes, enzymes help change the shape of the food into smaller pieces so that it can be absorbed and circulated by the blood.

What are the enzymes and their function in digestion?

Get to know digestive enzymes and how they work in general

Every food you eat needs to be digested into basic nutrients such as fat, protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals. The goal is that these nutrients are easily absorbed and flowed through the bloodstream to support various body functions.

Most of the digestive process is assisted by enzymes that are produced from various points in the digestive tract. Without enzymes, food will only accumulate in the stomach. Your body will not be able to get nutrients and energy from food.

There are a number of enzyme production sites in your digestive system. These places are the salivary glands, liver (liver), gall bladder, the inside of the stomach wall, pancreas, and the inner walls of the small intestine and large intestine.

The amount and type of enzymes that are formed depends on the type and amount of food you eat. Even so, the way digestive enzymes actually work are similar to other enzymes in your body.

All digestive enzymes are part of a large group of enzymes called hydrolases. This group of enzymes uses water molecules to break the chemical bonds that make up the nutrients of a food or liquid.

Digestive enzymes work as a catalyst, which is a substance that speeds up the rate of chemical reactions. In the digestive system, these enzymes speed up chemical reactions to break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into their smallest forms.

After that, then the intestines can absorb nutrients and send them to the circulatory system. The blood will then circulate nutrients to all body cells to form energy or perform other functions.

There are countless enzymes in your digestive system. In general, these various enzymes are classified into four groups, namely as follows.

• Proteolytic enzymes that break down protein into amino acids.
• Lipolytic enzymes that break down fat into fatty acids and glycerol.
• Amylolytic enzymes that break down carbohydrates and starches (starch) into simple sugars.
• Nucleolytic enzymes that break down nucleic acids into nucleotides.

Various kinds of enzymes in the digestive system

The digestive system breaks down the nutrients you get from food, then converts them into their smallest form. The results of this decomposition are simple sugars, fatty acids, glycerol and amino acids.

The following are various enzymes that play an important role in the process of breaking down nutrients according to the place of production.

1. Mouth

Apart from undergoing the mechanical digestion process by the teeth and tongue, food is also digested chemically by the enzymes lysozyme, betaine, bromelain, and amylase. These various enzymes mix in the saliva produced by the salivary glands.

The amylase enzyme is divided into ptialine amylase produced by the salivary glands and amylase produced by the pancreas. Its function is to break down starch (starch) in food into simple sugars such as glucose. This simple sugar will later become a source of energy for your body.

When starchy foods such as rice or potatoes begin to break down, you may detect a sweet taste from the resulting maltose. This is a sign that the amylase enzyme has started working in your mouth.

Meanwhile, lysozyme enzymes have antibacterial properties that can protect the body from microbes in food. Betaine enzymes function in maintaining the balance of cell fluids, while the enzyme bromelain has anti-inflammatory properties.

2. Stomach

The stomach wall secretes hydrochloric acid (HCl), which kills bacteria and makes the stomach acidic enough to support the function of the protease enzyme. It is a type of enzyme that breaks down proteins into smaller molecules.

The digestive tract produces several protease enzymes, but the most important are pepsin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin. Among the three digestive enzymes, what is produced by the stomach is the enzyme pepsin.

Pepsin initially has an inactive form called pepsinogen. Once you meet stomach acid, pepsinogen turns into pepsin and can perform its function. This enzyme converts proteins into smaller molecules called peptides.

Apart from pepsin, there are also the enzymes renin, gelatinase, and lipase in your stomach. Renin is an enzyme that specifically digests protein in milk, then breaks it down into peptides so that pepsin can break it down.

Gelatinase breaks down large proteins in meat into medium sized molecules. This molecule is then further broken down by the enzyme pepsin in the stomach and trypsin in the intestine to become amino acids. Meanwhile, lipase breaks down fat.

3. Pancreas and small intestine wall

The food that has been refined in your stomach still has to go through a further breakdown process in the small intestine. This process is assisted by various enzymes produced by the pancreas.

Here are the various enzymes produced by the pancreas and their functions.

Lipase

The pancreas produces various digestive enzymes which are sent to the small intestine, one of which is lipase. The main function of lipases is to break down fat into smaller molecules called fatty acids and glycerol.

Digestion of fat involves several organs at once. Initially, the liver produces bile and passes it to the small intestine. Bile turns fat into many small lumps. These clots are then broken down into fatty acids and glycerol.

Amylase and other enzymes that break down carbohydrates

At the same time, the pancreas also produces pancreatic amylase enzymes. This enzyme is passed to the intestines to break down carbohydrates into glucose. Glucose is the simplest form of sugar that is absorbed by the blood and carried around the body.

The walls of your small intestine actually also produce enzymes to break down carbohydrates into other simple molecules besides glucose. Following are each enzyme in the small intestine and the results of its breakdown.

• Sucrase: breaks down sucrose into disaccharides and monosaccharides.
• Maltase: breaks down maltose into glucose.
• Lactase: breaks down lactose into glucose and galactose.

Trypsin

While there is a breakdown of fats and carbohydrates, there are also digestive enzymes that also work to break down protein. The enzymes that play a role in this process are trypsin and chymotrypsin. They are also released from the pancreas into the small intestine.

The function of trypsin and chymotrypsin is to break down proteins into amino acids. Amino acids are the smallest units that make up your body and the food you consume. Your body can only absorb protein in the form of amino acids.

Other enzymes

Apart from the previous main enzymes, the pancreas also produces a number of other enzymes as follows.

• Phospholipase : break down phospholipids (phosphorus and fat bonds) into fatty acids.
• Carboxypeptidase : break down protein into amino acids.
• Elastase: breaks down the protein elastin.
• Nucleases: break down nucleic acids into nucleotides and nucleosides.

Some of your digestive organs produce digestive enzymes to break down nutrients into their simplest form. The goal is of course that your body's cells can absorb nutrients so that they are able to form energy and carry out its functions properly.