All sorts of chemical processes are taking place in our bodies all the time. Enzymes play an important part in this. These proteins can speed up chemical reactions inside or outside cells.
All sorts of chemical processes are taking place in our bodies all the time. Enzymes play an important part in this. These proteins can speed up chemical reactions inside or outside cells.
Speeding up with enzymes
Most of the body’s chemical reactions proceed very slowly when left to themselves. That is because a threshold needs to be exceeded before a reaction can take place. We call this threshold the activation energy. Fortunately, enzymes can speed up the reactions in our bodies. They do this by lowering the activation energy. The reaction does not use up the enzymes. This allows them to do their work time and again.
The name says it all
During these kinds of chemical reaction, an enzyme converts a particular substance called the substrate into other substances. The conversion is very particular. The enzyme can only convert one specific substrate. The name of the enzyme shows which substrate that is: the suffix ‘-ase’ is simply added to the name of the substrate in question. So the enzyme pectinase converts the substrate pectin.
Preferences and demands
Enzymes work quicker given certain circumstances. For example, with a higher temperature. But, if the temperature is too high, the shape of the enzyme changes, causing it to not to work well any longer. It is then said to have been ‘denatured’.
Every day, you yourself help enzymes work more efficiently. By chewing your food, you increase its surface area. This provides the digestive enzymes in your saliva and stomach with more area to work on, allowing the food to be digested quicker.