Question

Which of the following enzymes is used for coagulating milk protein to obtain casein?

• A. Rennin
• B. Ptyalin
• C. Trypsin
• D. Pancreatin

Answer 1

The correct option is A Rennin

Chymosin, known also as rennin, is a proteolytic enzyme related to pepsin that synthesized by chief cells in the stomach of some animals. Its role in digestion is to curdle or coagulate milk in the stomach, a process of considerable importance in the very young animal. If milk were not coagulated, it would rapidly flow through the stomach and miss the opportunity for initial digestion of its proteins. In order to understand how chymosin coagulates milk, one needs to know something about milk proteins. The majority of milk protein is casein and there are four major types of casein molecules: alpha-s1, alpha-s2, beta and kappa. The alpha and beta caseins are hydrophobic proteins that are readily precipitated by calcium - the normal calcium concentration in milk is far in excess of that required to precipitate these proteins. However, kappa casein is a distinctly different molecule - it is not calcium-precipitable. As the caseins are secreted, they self-associate into aggregates called micelles in which the alpha and beta caseins are kept from precipitating by their interactions with kappa casein. In essence, kappa casein normally keeps the majority of milk protein soluble and prevents it from spontaneously coagulating. Chymosin proteolytically cuts and inactivates kappa casein, converting it into para-kappa-casein and a smaller protein called macropeptide. Para-kappa-casein does not have the ability to stabilize the micellar structure and the calcium-insoluble caseins precipitate, forming a curd.

So the correct option is 'rennin'.