A digestive enzyme produced by the intestines that breaks down proteins into smaller amino acids and peptides.
From Greek 'erepsis' (ἐρέψις, digestion) related to 'erepein' (to break or digest), with the suffix '-in' used for enzyme names. It was identified by scientists studying intestinal enzyme activity.
Erepsin was one of the first enzymes ever discovered and isolated, making it scientifically important even though we now know it's a mixture of several different peptidases working together—it was a stepping stone toward understanding that proteins are our body's workers.
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