The Digestive System and Nutrition

Solutions

Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives

Amino Acids & Protein Structure

Gastric pits contain chief cells and parietal cells. Chief cells secrete pepsinogen, the precursor of pepsin, an enzyme which breaks down proteins. Parietal cells secrete HCl. Not only serving to catalyze the hydrolysis of nutrient molecules, the H⁺ ions cleave pepsinogen into pepsin.