pepsin -
an enzyme produced in the stomach that splits proteins into peptones
enzyme any of several complex proteins that are produced by cells and act as catalysts in specific biochemical reactions
gastric acid,
gastric juice digestive secretions of the stomach glands consisting chiefly of hydrochloric acid and mucin and the enzymes pepsin and rennin and lipase
Pepsin is an enzyme whose precursor form (pepsinogen) is released by the chief cells in the stomach and that degrades food proteins into peptides. It was discovered in 1836 by Theodor Schwann who also coined its name from the Greek word pepsis, meaning digestion . It was the first animal enzyme to be discovered, and, in 1929, it became one of the first enzymes to be crystallized, by John H. Northrop.
