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Specialty Chemistry Forums => Other Sciences Question Forum => Topic started by: BaO on August 16, 2006, 08:16:52 PM

Title: stomach acid
Post by: BaO on August 16, 2006, 08:16:52 PM

what advantage HCl has over other acids or bases that it is placed in our stomaches?

Title: Re: stomach acid
Post by: Albert on August 23, 2006, 07:56:33 AM

Well, I'm not much of a physiologist, but, from a chemical point of view, nitric acid would be a too powerful oxidizing agent.

Title: Re: stomach acid
Post by: sdekivit on August 25, 2006, 04:49:25 PM

i assume HCl is the most logical option for stomach acid since the extracellular Cl^- -concentration is very high: 108 mM.

Then using the H⁺/K⁺-ATPase H+ and Cl- combine to form HCl in the parietal cells. More about the physiology about gastric acid production can be found at the most loyal friend of every scientist: wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastric_acid