Enzymes
What are Enzymes?
What do they do?
And why do we need them?
Enzymes are complex proteins or you can also say that they are biological molecules. There are also some non-protein components. Enzymes act like catalysts which speeds up vital biological processes in a living organism. In order that enzymes act as a catalysts the non-proteins must be included. Enzymes are made of a long string of amino acids but most don't even look like an amino acid string. The string is made of the twenty different amino acids. The structure and the function of the enzyme is determined by how the amino acids are in order. There are no enzymes that are the same. Each singular enzyme has its own specific sequence of amino acids which is intended by the genes in the cells. One enzyme is made of million amino acids on one string. Most of them don't look like a string because the string is folded thousands of times into a highly complex three-dimensional structure. The chemical interactions of amino acids forces the enzyme string into a three-dimensional structure. But not the entire string of the enzyme is taking part in the catalysts of biochemical reactions, only a small part of the amino acids are active which are called "the active side".
Enzymes were already used in the prehistoric time. During this time enzymes were used in brewing, baking and in the alcohol production. The earliest written sources which enzymes were mentioned was found in Homer's Greek poems around 800 BC, where they have used it in the production of cheese. For more than a thousands years the Japanese used enzymes in fermented products like "Sake". Sake is a Japanese schnapps that is brewed from rice.
Even if we don't notice it, enzymes are playing a very active role in our everyday life. They are used in a variety of products that we consume or use for daily activities. Enzymes in products are used for more than fifty years to replace chemicals and minimize the use of water, to save money and to protect the environment.
To solve the industrial problem that the companies have with producing goods they always need to find a better way to produce their products. In this type of situation enzymes can help companies because they don't threat the environment. And with using enzymes we can maintain our standard of living and also continue it in the future of our children. Enzymes aren't only environment friendly they can also help in a lot of products to improve them and make them even better.
The general functions of enzymes in our body are that they break down our food and they also do blood clotting. You can find enzymes everywhere including organs and cells in your body.
If we wouldn't have any enzymes in our body it would cease of function.
There are six prime enzyme classes in our body which are:
To solve the industrial problem that the companies have with producing goods they always need to find a better way to produce their products. In this type of situation enzymes can help companies because they don't threat the environment. And with using enzymes we can maintain our standard of living and also continue it in the future of our children. Enzymes aren't only environment friendly they can also help in a lot of products to improve them and make them even better.
The general functions of enzymes in our body are that they break down our food and they also do blood clotting. You can find enzymes everywhere including organs and cells in your body.
If we wouldn't have any enzymes in our body it would cease of function.
There are six prime enzyme classes in our body which are:
- Ligase - this binds nucleotides in nucleic acids and it also binds simple sugar in polysaccharide
- Lyase - is breaks down the bonds of carbon atoms or from carbon nitrogen bonds
- Hydrolase - breaks down large molecules into simpler molecules, which happens by adding water molecules
- Transferase - it cuts parts of a molecule and adds these onto other molecules
- Isomerase - helps getting carbohydrates in certain enzymatic processes by rearranging molecules
- Oxido-reductase - mainly associated with "mitochondrial energy production" by removing hydrogens or electrons from a molecule and adding it to another molecule
- Kinase - this enzyme is important for the activation of certain enzymes, which happens by attaching a phosphate group to a high energy bond
There are three main groups of enzmes which are:
- Food Enyzmes - these enzymes occur by consuming "raw foods" like animal products or plant products such as for example meat and vegetables. These enzymes that are plant-based are called "Protease", "Lipase", "Amylase" and "Cellulase". The aninmal-based enzymes are called "Pepsin", "Bromelain", etc. All these enzymes are mainly breaking down the foods so that the chemical reactions can occur faster than without them.
- Digestive Enzymes - helps the body to digest food. There are three enzymes which are helping the body
- Amylase - helps breaking down carbohydrates and it is found in saliva
- Proteases - helps by digesting proteins and it can be found in the stomach
- Lipases - helps in digesting fats and it can also be found in the stomach
- Metabolic Enzymes - these enzymes are moving in your entire body system and organs. Within body cells they carry out many chemical reactions. The "Metabolic Enzymes are important for cellular functions, also help completing digestion, nutrient absorption, resist free radicals and assisting liver detoxification. To maintain a healthy diet you need to supplement some enzymes which our body can't produce by his own.
Enzymes Inhibitor - prevent enzymes form working normally, there are some different types of inhibitors which are:
- Nonspecific Inhibitors - is effecting the enzymes in the same way each time, nonspecific inhibitors are physical and chemical changes which "denatures" the amount of protein
- Temperature - increasing temperature = enzymes reaction rate decreases
- Acids and Bases - when the pH value increases or decreases the amine group on side chains changes with it
- Specific Inhibitors - effect an single enzyme in a specific way
- Competitive Inhibitors - competes for the same active site such as the substrate molecule, they can interact with the enzymes but there won't be any reaction, the amount of inhibition depends on the amount of the inhibitor concentration, substrate concentration, relative affinities of the inhibitor and it also depends on the substrate for the active site
- Methanol Poisoning - ethanol is competitively inhibits the degeneration of methanol and which causes then a decay of enzymes
- Non competitive Inhibitors - these inhibitors are interacting with enzymes at the non active site and they cause to change the shape of the enzyme, the non competitive inhibitor isn't influenced by the amount of substrate
- Irreversible Inhibitors - these inhibitors act near the active site and they can't be replaced by a addition of excess substrate
Overall enzymes are an important part and a necessary part in our daily life. Without enzymes our life would be way more difficult than it is already. Enzymes aren't only helping us in our body they also help in the industry to improve products and making them better and better. Without Enzymes our body would cease of functions and wouldn't operate how it should be normally.
Sources
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok9esggzN18
- http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/573inhibit.html