What are the components that pepsin degrades proteins into?

Pepsin is a proteolytic enzyme that plays a crucial role in the digestion of proteins within the stomach. It works optimally in the acidic environment created by gastric juice. When proteins enter the stomach, pepsin cleaves them at specific sites, breaking them down into smaller fragments.

The correct response indicates that pepsin degrades proteins into various forms, including peptides, polypeptides, oligopeptides, and amino acids. Peptides are short chains of amino acids, while polypeptides are longer chains. Oligopeptides typically consist of just a few amino acids. This process of breaking down proteins into these smaller components is essential for further digestion and absorption later in the gastrointestinal tract, particularly in the small intestine, where enzymes continue to break down these fragments into individual amino acids for absorption into the bloodstream.

The other options incorrectly describe the products of protein digestion. For example, amino acids alone do not encompass the whole spectrum of what pepsin produces, as it also generates peptide fragments before reaching individual amino acids. The mention of fatty acids and polysaccharides in other options diverges entirely from the function of pepsin, which specifically targets proteins rather than fats or carbohydrates. Thus, the recognition of peps