Gastric acid
The main constituent of gastric acid is hydrochloric acid which is produced by parietal cells (also called oxyntic cells) in the gastric glands in the stomach. Its 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, the acidity being maintained by the proton pump H/K ATPase. The parietal cell releases bicarbonate into the bloodstream in the process, which causes a temporary rise of pH in the blood, known as an alkaline tide.
Histidine
The conjugate acid (protonated form) of the imidazole side chain in histidine has a p"K" of approximately 6.0. This means that, at physiologically relevant pH values, relatively small shifts in pH will change its average charge. Below a pH of 6, the imidazole ring is mostly protonated as described by the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation. When protonated, the imidazole ring bears two NH bonds and has a positive charge. The positive charge is equally distributed between both nitrogens and can be represented with two equally important resonance structures. As the pH increases past approximately 6, one of the protons is lost. The remaining proton of the now-neutral imidazole ring can reside on either nitrogen, giving rise to what are known as the N1-H or N3-H tautomers. The N3-H tautomer, shown in the figure above, is protonated on the #3 nitrogen, farther from the amino acid backbone bearing the amino and carboxyl groups, whereas the N1-H tautomer is protonated on the nitrogen nearer the backbone.