I'm studying digestive enzyme supplements and a large proportion of them contain a wide variety of proteases (Serratiopeptidase, DPPIV-peptidase, pepsin and others) as well as some other, mainly carbohydrate-digesting, enzymes. These are all often contained within the same non-enterically-coated capsule so liquid can leach inside once the capsule is consumed. Would it be expected that the proteases start digesting each other as well as the other enzymes, and would this then reduce the effectiveness of the supplement?
Thank you for any answers
Hi. Yes . It breakd down proteins into amino acids. lipase enzymes break down lipids (fats and oils) into fatty acids and glycerol.
As others pointed out, proteases can in general cleave other proteases. However, the digestive proteases such as pepsin are most active at very low pH as is present in the stomach. Outside these environments, you may see much reduced activity and thus only limited cleavage of the other proteins in the capsule.
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