pH level in Human Stomach
Gastric acid , gastric juice , or stomach acid is a digestive fluid formed within the stomach lining . With a pH between 1 and 3, gastric acid plays a key role in digestion of proteins by activating digestive enzymes , which together break down the long chain of amino acids of proteins. The primary active component of gastric acid is Hydrochloric acid ( HCl ), which is produced by parietal cells in the gastric gland in the stomach. The secretion is a complex and relatively energetically expensive process. Parietal cells contain an extensive secretory network (called canaliculi ) from which the "hydrochloric acid" is secreted into the lumen of the stomach. The pH of gastric acid is 1.5 to 3.5 in the human stomach lumen , a level maintained by the proton pump . A typical adult human stomach will secrete about 1.5 liters of gastric acid daily . Gastric acid secretion is produced in several steps. Chloride and hydrogen ions are secreted separately from the c