Which pancreatic enzyme breaks down proteins?

• A. Nuclease
• B. Tryspin
• C. Lipase
• D. Amylase

Answer: (B)

Proteins are broken down by proteolytic enzymes, and the pancreas supplies a major enzyme that does this job: trypsin. It’s produced as an inactive precursor, trypsinogen, and is activated in the small intestine by the enzyme enterokinase. Once active, trypsin cleaves peptide bonds on the carboxyl side of basic amino acids like lysine and arginine, helping convert long protein chains into shorter peptides for further digestion. Among the options, only this enzyme targets proteins; nuclease would cut nucleic acids, lipase digests fats, and amylase digests carbohydrates.