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What Do Enzymes Do?

Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts to regulate the rate of chemical reactions in living organisms without being altered themselves. Some enzymes break down large molecules into smaller pieces for absorption, while others combine two molecules to form new ones. Enzymes are highly selective and each only catalyzes a specific reaction. They accelerate reactions by millions of times by binding with substrate molecules in their active sites.

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39 views2 pages

What Do Enzymes Do?

Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts to regulate the rate of chemical reactions in living organisms without being altered themselves. Some enzymes break down large molecules into smaller pieces for absorption, while others combine two molecules to form new ones. Enzymes are highly selective and each only catalyzes a specific reaction. They accelerate reactions by millions of times by binding with substrate molecules in their active sites.

Uploaded by

Lutfi D.A
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Enzyme, a substance that acts as a catalyst in living organisms, regulating the rate at which

chemical reactions proceed without itself being altered in the process.

Some enzymes help break large molecules into smaller pieces that are more easily absorbed by
the body. Other enzymes help bind two molecules together to produce a new molecule. Enzymes
are highly selective catalysts, meaning that each enzyme only speeds up a specific reaction. The
molecules that an enzyme works with are called substrates. The substrates bind to a region on the
enzyme called the active site.

In the lock-and-key model, the active site of an enzyme is precisely shaped to hold specific
substrates. In the induced-fit model, the active site and substrate don't fit perfectly together;
instead, they both alter their shape to connect. Whatever the case, the reactions that occur
accelerate greatly — over a million fold — once the substrates bind to the active site of the
enzyme. The chemical reactions result in a new product or molecule that then separates from the
enzyme, which goes on to catalyze other reactions.

Here's an example: When the salivary enzyme amylase binds to a starch, it catalyzes hydrolysis
(the breakdown of a compound due to a reaction with water), resulting in maltose, or malt sugar.

Enzymes also have valuable industrial and medical applications. The fermenting of wine,
leavening of bread, curdling of cheese, and brewing of beer have been practiced from earliest
times, but not until the 19th century were these reactions understood to be the result of the
catalytic activity of enzymes. Since then, enzymes have assumed an increasing importance in
industrial processes that involve organic chemical reactions. The uses of enzymes in medicine
include killing disease-causing microorganisms, promoting wound healing, and diagnosing
certain diseases.

What do enzymes do?


The digestive system - enzymes help the body break down larger complex molecules into
smaller molecules, such as glucose, so that the body can use them as fuel.

DNA replication - each cell in your body contains DNA. Each time a cell divides, that DNA
needs to be copied. Enzymes help in this process by unwinding the DNA coils and copying the
information.

Liver enzymes - the liver breaks down toxins in the body. To do this, it uses a range of enzymes.

Examples of specific enzymes


There are thousands of enzymes in the human body, here are just a few examples:

 Lipases - a group of enzymes that help digest fats in the gut.


 Amylase - helps change starches into sugars. Amylase is found in saliva.
 Maltase - also found in saliva; breaks the sugar maltose into glucose. Maltose is found in
foods such as potatoes, pasta, and beer.
 Trypsin - found in the small intestine, breaks proteins down into amino acids.
 Lactase - also found in the small intestine, breaks lactose, the sugar in milk, into glucose
and galactose.
 Acetylcholinesterase - breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in nerves and
muscles.
 Helicase - unravels DNA.
 DNA polymerase - synthesize DNA from deoxyribonucleotides.

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