How does the HCl in the stomach help in digestion??

Answer 1

kill bacterias.
make the foods in our stomaches more sour (decrease pH)

the HCl will react with the pepsinogen to form pesin.
and pepsin is used to break down the molecules of proteins into peptones, or peptides

Answer 2

The hydrochloric acid does not actually help in the process of digestion, but serves as a substance which acts as poison to several microorganisms which may have entered along with the food consumed. The actual work of digestion is perfomed by enzymes like amylase,lipase and protease

Answer 3

The HCl in the stomach kills the harmful germs.
It neutralizes the alkaline nature of food and initiates the gastric glands.

Answer 4

hydrochloric acid
Definition: The substance that forms when hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water
Context: The hydrochloric acid in the stomach protects us from many powerful bacteria.
Bile acids are derivatives of cholesterol synthesized in the hepatocyte. Cholesterol, ingested as part of the diet or derived from hepatic synthesis is converted into the bile acids cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids, which are then conjugated to an amino acid (glycine or taurine) to yield the conjugated form that is actively secreted into cannaliculi.

Bile acids are facial amphipathic, that is, they contain both hydrophobic (lipid soluble) and polar (hydrophilic) faces. The cholesterol-derived portion of a bile acid has one face that is hydrophobic (that with methyl groups) and one that is hydrophilic (that with the hydroxyl groups); the amino acid conjugate is polar and hydrophilic.



Bile acids have long been known to facilitate digestion and absorption of lipids in the small intestine. Recently, it has been demonstrated that bile acids also function as hormones that bind to nuclear receptors and, through that mechanism, modulate expression of proteins involved in cholesterol homeostasis.

Several orphan nuclear receptors have been shown to bind bile acids (cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids), including the farsenoid X receptor (FRX), the LXRalpha receptor and the CPA receptor. Further, the resulting bile acid-receptor complexes have been shown capable of binding to promoter regions of specific genes and either stimulating or suppressing their transcription. In essence, bile salts can function as steroid hormones.

Studies on the binding of bile acids to the FRX receptor has provided two examples of how bile salts affect cholesterol homeostasis by altering gene expression:

Bile acids are synthesized in hepatocytes from cholesterol. The rate-limiting enzyme in this pathway is cholesterol 7-alpha hydroxylase (7AH). The FRX-bile acid complex binds the promoter region of the 7AH gene, which suppresses its transcription. Thus, bile acids feed back negatively to block their own synthesis.
A majority of bile acids delivered into the intestine are recycled by absorption in the ileum (enterohepatic recirculation). Absorption of bile acids into ileal epithelial cells is dependent on expression of a plasma membrane protein called the ileal bile acid transporter, which is encoded by the IBAT gene. The promoter of the IBAT gene also binds the FRX-bile acid complex, which activates transcription, leading to synthesis of additional transporters. In this case, bile salts feed forward positively to enhance their reabsorption from the gut.
These two actions suggest that in the whole animal, elevated blood levels of bile acids leads both to diminished synthesis of new bile acids and enhanced recycling of those that exist. Undoubtedly, addition endocrine actions of bile salts will be delineated through current and future studies of this newly discovered system.

Answer 5

kills bugs and breaks down cell walls.