What_are_enzymes
What_are_enzymes
What_are_enzymes
Chemical reactions that take place inside living things are called biochemical
reactions. The sum of all the biochemical reactions in an organism is referred to
as metabolism
.
Metabolism includes both exothermic (heat-releasing) chemical reactions and
endothermic (heat-absorbing) chemical reactions.
Catabolic Reactions
Anabolic Reactions
(Endergonic reactions require energy input to take simple, low energy reactants and build
complex, high energy products. Exergonic reactions release the energy bound up in the reactants
and yield simpler, low energy products.)
Enzymes are proteins that help speed up metabolism, or the chemical reactions in
our bodies. They build some substances and break others down. All living things
have enzymes.
Our bodies naturally produce enzymes. But enzymes are also in manufactured
products and food.
Breathing.
Building muscle.
Nerve function.
Ridding our bodies of toxins.
There are thousands of individual enzymes in the body. Each type of enzyme only
has one job. For example, the enzyme sucrase breaks down a sugar called sucrose.
Lactase breaks down lactose, a kind of sugar found in milk products.
PARTS OF ENZYMES
Each enzyme has an “active site.” This area has a unique shape. The substance an
enzyme works on is a substrate. The substrate also has a unique shape. The enzyme
and the substrate must fit together to work.
Enzymes need the right conditions to work. If conditions aren’t right, enzymes can
change shape. Then, they no longer fit with substrates, so they don’t work
correctly.