Biological reaction, alcohol protein hydrolysis

Amide hydrolysis is common in biological chemistry. Just as the hydrolysis of esters is the initial step in the digestion of dietary fats, the hydrolysis of amides is the initial step in the digestion of dietary proteins. The reaction is catalyzed by protease enzymes and occurs by a mechanism almost identical to that we just saw for fat hydrolysis. That is, an initial nucleophilic acyl substitution of an alcohol group in the enzyme on an amide linkage in the protein gives an acyl enzyme intermediate that then undergoes hydrolysis. 

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