INTRODUCTION

TO
BIOCHEMISTRY
What Is Biochemistry?
The word ‘BIOCHEMISTRY’-
means -Chemistry of Living
beings or Chemical Basis of
Life.
 “Life” in Biochemistry point of view
is:
Hundreds of Biochemical
reactions and Biochemical
processes

Occurring in sub cellular

organelles of a cell in an organized
manner.
Biochemistry is a branch of life
science:
Which deals with the Study of
Biochemical Reactions and
Processes
Occurring in living cells of
organisms.
Branches of Biochemistry
Medical Biochemistry-Deals
with chemical basis of human
body.

Clinical Biochemistry-Deals with

clinical diseases/pathological
conditions of human body.
Clinical Biochemistry
supports:

Diagnosis, Therapy and

Research of Medical field.
Bacterial Biochemistry-Deals with Microbes.

Plant Biochemistry- Deals with Plants.

Animal Biochemistry-Deals with animals.

Industrial Biochemistry-Deals with

industrial products involved with
microorganisms.
Historical Developments
of
Biochemistry
Biochemistry emerged in the late 18th
and early 19th century.

The term Biochemistry was first

introduced by the German Chemist Carl
Neuberg in 1903.

In the 1940s Clinical Biochemistry

evolved, as an autonomous field.
 S.No Pioneer Workers Discovery/Work

1 Berzilus Enzymes Catalysis

2 Edward Buchner Enzyme Extraction

3 Louis Pasteur Fermentation Process

4 Lohmann Role of Creatine PO4 in

muscles
5 Hans Kreb TCA Cycle

6 Banting and Macleod Insulin

7 Fiske and Subbarow Role of ATPs

 S.No Pioneer Worker Discovery/Work

8 Watson and Crick Double Stranded

DNA
9 Landsteiner Protein Structure
10 Peter Mitchell Oxidative
Phosphorylation
11 Nirenberg Genetic Code on
mRNA
12 Paul Berg Recombinant DNA
Technology
13 Karry Mullis Polymerase Chain
Reaction
14 Khorana Synthesized Gene
Aim And Objectives
To Study
Biochemistry
To know the various
Biomolecules composed in
Human body:
 Chemistry/Structure

 Occurrence/Location
 Functions/Role
Determination of mode of action
of Biomolecules is by:

 Isolation and Structural

elucidation of Biomolecules.
Understand completely all
the organized Biochemical
processes
Occurring in living cells at
the molecular/sub cellular
level .
Identification of disease
mechanisms:

Study of Inborn Errors of

metabolism.

Study of Oncogenes in cancer cells.

Syllabus Of Biochemistry
 Medical Biochemistry
Medical or Human Biochemistry is a
branch of Biochemistry which deals with:
Biochemical constituents of human
body
Their interactions in body cells
To maintain normal health, growth and
reproduction and related diseases.
Chemical Composition of Human body
Study of Biochemical
aspects of Cell and its
sub cellular organelles.
Study of various Biochemical constituents of
cell:
(Chemistry, properties , functions, metabolism
and related disorders).
① Carbohydrates
② Lipids
③ Proteins
④ Vitamins
⑤ Minerals
⑥ Water
Nutrition and Metabolism of
Biomolecules
Study of Food and its
constituents
Dietary Nutrients builds
human body and maintain
health
Major prerequisite for the maintenance
of health is that there should be optimal
dietary intake of constituents with good
quality and appropriate quantity.
Biochemical research has
impact on Nutrition &
Preventive Medicine.
 Metabolism of Biomolecules
Ingestion
Digestion
Absorption
Transport
Uptake and
Assimilation of food constituents in
human body.
Catabolic and Anabolic
pathways related to
Biomolecules for Human
vitality:
Energy rich biomolecules get
catabolized in body cells to liberate
chemical form of energy ATP used for
various body activities.

Various biomolecules are

biosynthesized to perform vital
functions of human body.
To maintain normal health
of a human body:
Biomolecules in human
body work
Cooperatively with good
coordination ,Regulation and
Interrelationship.
Roles Of Important Biomolecules
Carbohydrates serves as primary
source of energy.
Lipids serves as secondary source
of energy.
Proteins are structural and
functional units of human body
which are of prime importance and
survival of human beings.
Vitamins: Fat soluble and Water soluble
vitamins have specific functions which
serve as accessory growth factors.

Minerals: Inorganic elements major and

minor type has important role in
building and functioning of human
bodies.
Enzymes are biomolecules which are
Biocatalysts catalyzes specific biochemical
reactions of metabolic pathways and
considered as functional units of
metabolism.

Hormones the Endocrine substances,

chemical messengers of human body.
They bring good coordination and regulate
enzyme activities of metabolism.
 Elements of Molecular Biology
Nucleic acids and Molecular
Genetics
DNA, RNA and Protein
synthesis
Regulation of gene expression
Recombinant DNA technology
Biochemical Processes
of
Human Body
Membrane transport mechanisms and signal
transduction

Biochemical mechanisms of hormone action-Cellular

Homoeostasis

Functions of Neurotransmitters

Oxygen transport, Bioenergetics, Mitochondrial

Respiratory chain

The Immune response

Interrelationships Of Biochemistry
Biochemistry Is A Fundamental Subject Of
Medicine
Biochemistry is related
to almost all branches of
the study of life in the field
of medicine and allied
sciences
Biochemistry is interrelated to:
Physiology- normal functions
Pathology - diseases
Pharmacology – effects of drugs
Immunology – immunity
Toxicology - toxins
Medicine and Allied Subjects
Community Medicine-Nutrition
Genetics – genes
A thorough understanding
knowledge, of Biochemistry
by a Doctor helps in:

Right Diagnosing and

treating a patient .
 The Scope for
Study and Research
in Biochemistry is
Endless
Principal driving force in
Clinical Biochemistry.

New emerging techniques

and methodologies to study
new Biomarkers
The scope of Biochemistry is
to understand the
functionality of the living cells,
tissues and the entire living
system.
The implications for biochemistry,
medicine, and indeed for all of biology, are
virtually unlimited.
For example, the ability to isolate and
sequence a gene and to investigate its
structure and function by sequencing and
“gene knockout” experiments have revealed
previously unknown genes and their products,
and new insights have been gained concerning
human evolution and procedures for
identifying disease-related genes.
Major advances in biochemistry and
understanding human health and disease continue
to be made by mutation of the genomes of model
organisms such as yeast, the fruit fly Drosophila
melanogaster, the roundworm Caenorhabditis
elegans, and the zebra fish, all organisms that can
be genetically manipulated to provide insight into
the functions of individual genes.

These advances can potentially provide clues to

curing human diseases such as cancer and
Alzheimer disease.
 Impact of the Human Genome Project on Biochemistry,
Biology, & Medicine

Initially unanticipated rapid progress in the late 1990s in

sequencing the human genome led in the mid-2000s to the
announcement that over 90% of the genome had been
sequenced.

This effort was headed by the International Human Genome

Sequencing Consortium and by Celera 25 Genomics. Except
for a few gaps, the sequence of the entire human genome
was completed in 2003, just 50 years after the description
of the double-helical nature of DNA by Watson and Crick
New “-omics” fields focus on comprehensive study
of the structures and functions of the molecules
with which each is concerned.
The products of genes (RNA molecules and
proteins) are being studied using the techniques of
transcriptomics and proteomics.
A spectacular example of the speed of progress in
transcriptomics is the explosion of knowledge about
small RNA molecules as regulators of gene activity.
Other -omics fields include glycomics, lipidomics,
metabolomics, nutrigenomics, and
pharmacogenomics. To keep pace with the
information generated, bioinformatics has received
much attention.
Other related fields to which the impetus from the HGP has
carried over are biotechnology, bioengineering, biophysics,
and bioethics

Nanotechnology is an active area, which, for example, may

provide novel methods of diagnosis and treatment for
cancer and other disorders.
Stem cell biology is at the center of much current research.
Gene therapy has yet to deliver the promise that it appears
to offer, but it seems probable that ultimately will occur.
Many new molecular diagnostic tests have developed in
areas such as genetic, microbiologic, and immunologic
testing and diagnosis.