Biochemistry MBS 230: Eric Mbindo Njunju

BIOCHEMISTRY
MBS 230
Eric Mbindo Njunju

Introduction
• What is Biochemistry?
Biochemistry is the study of the structure,
composition and chemical reactions of substances
in living systems. Biochemistry emerged as a
separate discipline when scientists combined
biology with organic, inorganic and physical
chemistry and began to study how living things
obtain energy from food, the chemical basis of
heredity, what fundamental changes occur in
disease and related issues.
• Anything more than a superficial
comprehension of life in all its diverse
manifestations-demands a knowledge of
biochemistry
Biochemistry quote
• A living organism is not a conglomerate of
chemical processes that operate randomly,
but an efficiently coordinated symphony of
integrated reactions, subject to an
exquisite pattern of regulatory checks and
balances
Two central concerns of health sciences:
• Understanding and maintenance of health
• Understanding and effective treatment of
disease
AIM
• To describe and explain in molecular terms all
chemical processes of living cells
– Complete understanding at the molecular level of
all chemical processes
– How?
• Isolate numerous molecules found in cells, determine
their structures and analyse how they function
• Scope of Biochemistry is as wide as life itself
-Wherever there is life, chemical processes are
occurring
• Chemical processes in microorganisms, plants,
insects, fish and birds direct relevance to
those in human
• Two major breakthroughs:
– Discovery of the roles of enzymes as catalysts
– Discovery of the role of nucleic acids as
information carrying molecules
• Knowledge of Biochemistry is essential to all
Life Sciences
– Physiology, the study of body functions overlaps
with biochemistry almost completely
– Immunology employs numerous biochemical
techniques
– Immunologic techniques have found wide use by
biochemists
• Pharmacology and Pharmacy rest on a sound
knowledge of biochemistry and physiology
– Most drugs are metabolised by enzyme-catalysed
reactions
– Complex interactions among drugs are best
understood biochemically
– Poisons act on biochemical reactions or processes-
Toxicology
– Biochemical approaches used to study basic
aspects of pathology such as inflammation, cell
injury and cancer
• Microbiology, Zoology and Botany all employ
biochemical approaches almost exclusively
Life depends on biochemical reactions and
processes
Biochemistry is increasingly becoming a
common language in life sciences
• Interrelationship of Biochemistry and
Medicine
– Biochemical studies have illuminated many
aspects of health and disease
– Studies of various aspects of health and disease
have opened up new areas of biochemistry
• Protein structure and function single biochemical
difference between normal and sickle cell hemoglobin
• Analysis of sickle cell hemoglobin understanding of
both normal hemoglobin and other proteins
• Medical treatment firmly grounded in a
knowledge of biochemistry and other basic
sciences then practice of medicine will have
rational basis that can be changed to
accommodate new knowledge
• All diseases are manifestations of
abnormalities of molecules, chemical
reactions or processes
DIAGNOSIS
• Examples:
. Vitamin C and D deficiency in
prevention/treatment
. Phenylketonuria – low or absent activity
of the enzyme that converts phenylalanine
to tyrosine
. Cystic Fibrosis- transmembrane lacking aa
508
• Analysis of the mechanism of action of
bacterial toxin that causes cholera- insights
into how clinical manifestations of this disease
are brought about
• Diabetes mellitus-abnormality of the
metabolism of glucose. Need to be familiar
with metabolism of glucose and many effects
of Insulin in the body
• Many biochemical studies illustrate disease
mechanisms and diseases inspire biochemical
research
• A sound knowledge of biochemistry and other
related basic science disciplines is necessary
for the rational practice of medical and related
health sciences

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BIOCHEMISTRY

Eric Mbindo Njunju

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