2.

4 Enzymes control biochemical reactions in living

organisms
The sum of all chemical reactions going on within a living organism is known as metabolism.
There can be 2 types of reactions:
1. Anabolic: Anabolic reactions build up large molecules from smaller ones, and usually
require an input of energy.
2. Catabolic: Catabolic reactions break down large molecules into smaller ones, and often
release energy.
Enzymes are proteins that functions as biological catalysts. The molecules that react in the
enzyme-catalysed reactions are called substrates, and the molecules produced are called
products.
A catalyst is a substance that speeds up the rate of reaction without being changed.
Most enzymes work inside cells. Some examples of intercellular enzymes are:

Catalase : breaks down harmful hydrogen peroxide in liver cells

Phosphorylase: which builds glucose into starch in plant storage cells.

Other enzymes are made inside the cells and released from the cell to perform their function.
Some examples of extracellular enzymes include:

Lipase: a digestive enzyme which breaks down fat to fatty acids and glycerol.
Amylase: which convert starch to maltose during germination.

Enzymes are usually specific. They work on only one kind of substrate. Proteases break down
protein only, and lipases break down lipid only and nothing else.
Enzymes have some important properties:

They are all proteins

Each enzyme catalyses only one reaction, they are very specific due to their shape.
They are influenced by temperature and ph.

Mechanism of enzyme action the lock and key method

Each enzyme is folded into shape that allows the substrate to fit into an area of the enzyme
called the active site, which is where the reaction occurs. Other substrates do not fit into the
active sight, so the enzyme can catalyse only one specific reaction. This is known as the lock
and key mechanism.

Enzyme

Substrate

Product

Amylase

Starch

Sugar

Protease
Peptidase
Lipase

Protein
Peptide
Fats / Lipids

Peptides
Amino acids
Fatty acids,
glycerol

Where it
happens
Mouth, S.
intestine
Stomach
S. intestine
S. intestine

Factors affecting enzyme activity

Temperature and ph affect enzyme activity.
Temperature
A higher temperature speeds up the movement of substrate molecules.
The enzyme molecules also gain energy and begin to vibrate. Eventually the enzyme molecules
vibrate so much that they become denatured- they lose their 3 dimensional shape and no longer
binds the substrate (so when you have fever enzyme activity is reduced). Denaturation is
usually irreversible.
Each enzyme has an optimum temperature. Most humans have an optimum temperature of
37 `C, whereas plants have an optimum temperature of 25`C.

pH
Changing the acid or base conditions can cause enzyme molecule to lose its 3 dimensional
shape and become denatured.
Just like its optimum temperature, each enzyme has its own optimum ph. Pepsin is an enzyme
that works in the stomach. Its optimum pH is 2.0. Whereas amylase works in the mouth and
small intestine has an optimum pH around 7.5 (slightly basic).