What do peptides do in the body?

Question

What do peptides do in the body?

Answer 1

Peptides are chains of at least 2 amino acids. A long peptide is typically called a protein. Proteins do a lot of different things in the body.



Chemical reactions in th body need something to make them go faster, and proteins called enzymes do this. For sugar and other molecules to go in and out of cells, channels or transport molecules have to be in cell membranes, and these are composed of protein.



Skin and bone have a very strong fibrous protein in them called collagen. In muscle the proteins actin and myosin interact (along with some other proteins) to give muscle contraction.



Your body can even use peptides and proteins as an energy source, by breaking them down and burning them as fuel.