What substances are contained in the gastric juice? What are their functions?
Answer:
Gastric juice contains three substances: hydrochloric acid, enzyme pepsin and mucus.
Their functions are:
- Hydrochloric acid in the stomach is used to make the medium acidic to facilitate the action of the enzyme pepsin and to kill germs if any.
- Enzyme pepsin digests proteins to convert them into peptones.
- The mucus helps to protect the stomach wall from its own secretions of hydrochloric acid.