proteins
Digestive enzymes secreted in the acidic environment low pH of the stomach help break down proteins into smaller molecules. The main digestive enzyme in the stomach is pepsin , which works best at a pH of about 1.5. These enzymes would not work optimally at other pHs. Trypsin is another enzyme in the digestive system, which breaks protein chains in food into smaller parts. Trypsin works in the small intestine, which is not an acidic environment. Trypsin's optimum pH is about 8.