What is the chemical equation for digestion of protein?

Protein digestion involves several chemical reactions, collectively referred to as proteolysis. The main steps and chemical equations for protein digestion are as follows:

1. Hydrolysis of peptide bonds:

- Enzymes called proteases (such as pepsin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin) catalyze the hydrolysis of peptide bonds within proteins.

- The general chemical equation for peptide bond hydrolysis is:

Protein - CO - NH - Protein + H2O → Protein - COOH + NH2 - Protein

where Protein - CO - NH - Protein represents the peptide bond between two amino acid residues.

2. Formation of smaller peptides:

- Proteases break down proteins into smaller peptides, which are chains of amino acids.

3. Further hydrolysis of peptides:

- Peptidases (such as dipeptidases and tripeptidases) further hydrolyze the smaller peptides into individual amino acids.

4. Absorption of amino acids:

- The individual amino acids resulting from proteolysis are absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine.

The overall chemical equation for protein digestion can be summarized as:

Protein + H2O → Amino acids