Enzymes

By Taylor Dill, Sydney Stumpf, Melanie Moulaison,and

Tonson Pham

What are Enzymes?

Enzymes are proteins, that act as biological catalysts.
Catalysts are substances that speeds up the rate of a
chemical reaction.

The Structure
I

The substrate is the substance that is reacting

with the enzyme
The active site is where the reaction takes
place.
The enzyme provides the active site for the
substrate to bond with the enzyme
This process is called the enzyme-substrate
complex
Substrate=Sucrose
Enzyme=Sucrase
(Ends in -ose it's a sugar)
(Ends in -ase it's an enzyme)
Sucrose and Sucrase are specific while
substrate and enzymes are general

The enzyme, sucrase, tries to find a

substrate, which is Sucrose.
Sucrose bonds to the active site of the
Sucrase
Like many other biological functions, to
break the sucrose up, the process requires
water
The sucrose is broken up into glucose and
fructose
The glucose and fructose carry out other
biological functions and the Sucrase needs to
find another sucrose to repeat the process all
over again
The process can be reversed and can turn
glucose and fructose into sucrose
This process does require water, however
instead of adding water, it is removing water

The Chemical Makeup

~ Enzymes are mainly made up of proteins or amino acids
(the building blocks of proteins).
Proteins are organic compounds, meaning that they're
composed of mainly carbon.
Proteins are also made up of: Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and
Oxygen.

Function

~ Enzymes act as catalysts, a substance that speeds up chemical

reactions.
In order to speed up chemical reactions, enzymes lower a reaction's
activation energy.
~They help with small and complex reactions everywhere in life.
~All cells need enzymes in order to live.
When a body doesn't have a specific type of enzyme, it can cause
health issues for the person. For example, when you have a lack of
digestive enzymes, it can cause indigestion and heartburn.
Digestive enzymes help in the process of breaking down food.
When there aren't enough of them, food builds up in your stomach
causing stomach acid to be backed up in your throat.
~Each enzymeaccording to the cell it's in has its own specific job.

Examples
You can find enzymes all over inside your body. Some include:
Protease;breaks down proteins.
Amylase; breaks down carbs, starches, and sugars.
Lipase; breaks down fat in dairy products.
Cellulose; breaks down cellulose, plant fiber.
Bromelain, although not found in the human body, is found in fresh pineapple,
and is used to treat muscle injuries and as an anti-aging agent

How are Enzymes useful in our daily lives?

Speeds up reactions; makes processes faster (any slow processes)
In the liver, you're able to break down alcohol
In the stomach it breaks down food
In the pancreas, there is digestive enzymes that break down food
Enzymes also speed up your metabolism