Proteases or proteinases are a class of enzymes that catalyse the hydrolysis of peptide bonds in proteins, thereby breaking down the proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids.

There are different families of proteases that have different substrate specificities and are optimal at different pH and salinity. Some of the main types of proteases include the following:

- Pepsin

- Trypsin

- Chymotrypsin

- Elastase

- Cathepsin

- Carboxypeptidase

- Aminopeptidase