Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Resolved

Hi Sacredwave,

What a great experiment! Each digestive enzyme has a different function: protease to digest proteins, lipase to digest fats and amylase to digest carbohydrates. Papain is the enzyme used in meat tenderizer as it breaks down proteins and cat foods are primarily composed of protein. To keep your experiment consistent with the experiment you cited, I suggest using an enzyme that breaks down proteins. The Digestive Enzyme Cat supplement may not work as well, because it is a mix of amylase, lipase and protease, while only protease can function in the low pH environment of your experiment (due to the presence of hydrochloric acid). In fact, pineapple juice is often used as an alternative to meat tenderizer and so I suggest trying this out! The experiment suggested 1200ml of protein tenderizer and thus I would use the same amount of pineapple juice.

Good luck and I hope this helped!

~Catherine M.