Tags: Enzyme.
Pepsin is an enzyme whose zymogen (pepsinogen) is released by the chief cells in the stomach and that degrades food proteins into peptides. It was discovered in 1836 by Theodor Schwann who also coined its name from the Greek word πέψις pepsis meaning digestion (from πέπτειν peptein to digest). It was the first enzyme to be discovered and in 1929 it became one of the first enzymes to be crystallized by John H. Northrop.
