Question

The function of Erepsin in the process of digestion is to convert
A) Fats into amino acids
B) Proteins into amino acids
C) Polysaccharides into saccharides
D) Disaccharides into monosaccharides

Answer 1

Hint: Many different types of enzymes are produced in our body during the digestion of food which helps in the breakdown of the complex food we eat into simpler forms so that our body can use those chemicals. For example, Amylase is the enzyme that helps to break down the starch present in our food into sugars which our body can use.

Complete answer: Erepsin is a mixture of enzymes of pancreatic juice and intestinal juices contained in a protein fraction which is found in the intestinal juices that digest peptones, proteins, and proteases into amino acids. It is produced in the ileum and the pancreas. Erepsin was thought to be a single enzyme or a mixture of few enzymes which are involved in the early breakdown of peptides to free amino acids in the intestines. But later it was discovered that Erepsin is a mixture of complex enzymes that is present widely in many cells and organisms. Erepsin is a type of protease enzyme.
Fats can’t be converted to amino acids.
To convert Polysaccharides to saccharides, amylase is the enzyme that helps in this.
To convert from disaccharides to monosaccharides, many enzymes help like maltases, sucrases, and lactases which are also present in the brush border of the small intestinal wall.
Thus, the correct option is B (Proteins into amino acids).
Additional information:
Peptone is a soluble protein formed in the starting stages of protein breakdown during digestion. Peptones are formed by the partial hydrolysis of proteins and they are the water-soluble mixture of polypeptides and amino acids.

Note: Erepsin is often grouped under exopeptidases, proteases that work only on the outermost peptide bonds of a polypeptide chain. It also acts best in a slightly alkaline medium pH is 8. It includes many polypeptides like dipeptidases, aminopeptidases, etc.