BIOLOGICAL

CATALYSTS
ENZYMES A biological Catalyst
Define Enzymes?
Enzymes are "biological catalysts"
"Biological" means the substance in question is
produced or is derived from some living
organism
Enzymes, as a subclass of catalyst, are very
specific in nature
Each enzyme can act to catalyze only very
select chemical reactions and only with very
select substances
ENZYMES A biological Catalyst
Chemical reactions in ALL living things involves
enzymes; this includes:

Respiration,

Photosynthesis,

Movement,

Growth,

Getting rid of toxic chemicals in the liver and so
on
ENZYMES
An enzyme can be described as a "key" which
can "unlock" complex compounds

An enzyme, as the key, must have a certain
structure or multi-dimensional shape that
matches a specific section of the "substrate"

A substrate is the compound or substance
which undergoes the change
ENZYMES
Once the catalyst and substrate comes together,
certain chemical bonds within the substrate
molecule change much as a lock is released, and
just like the key in this example, the enzyme
is free to execute its duty once again

Remember:
many chemical reactions happen but at such a slow
rate that their progress would not be perceived at
normal temperatures
ENZYMES
Consider for example, the animals and plants
oxidize glucose or other sugars to useable
energy

For a living organism to derive heat and other
energy from sugar, the sugar must be oxidized
(combined with oxygen) or metabolically
"burned

However, in a living system, the oxidation of
sugar must meet an additional condition; that
is; oxidation of sugar must proceed essentially at
normal body temperature
ENZYMES
Obviously, sugar surrounded by sufficient
oxygen would not oxidize very rapidly at this
temperature

However, enzymes created by the living
organisms combine easily with sugar in the
presence of oxygen and reaction proceeds
quite rapidly at temperatures up to 100F
(38C)

Therefore, enzymes of living organism very
easily digest sugar and other food substances
at normal body temperatures
ENZYMES
Enzymes often increases the rate of a chemical
reaction from 10 to 20 million times more than
if the reaction is left un-catalyzed (at a given
temperature)

Nutrients locked in certain organic complex
macromolecules, or in hard-to-digest food may
be released by a high degree of heat or
concentrated acid treatment
ENZYMES
Specific enzymes helps in the release of highly
digestible nutrients of organics without needing
excessive heat or rigorous chemical treatment

In plants, enzymes are responsible for utilizing
the sunlight energy to store food in the form of
sugar the process in known as photosynthesis

ENZYMES
During a hot summer afternoon, if you ever sit
under a tree, you will be surprised to notice
that the leaves of the tree are cool? Why?

The sunshine is hot enough to melt tar on the
streets, but plant leaves remain barely warm to
the touch. Why?

Where does all the energy go?
Ans. It is slowly being tied up in the chemical bonds
of sugar
Where Do Enzymes Come From?
Scientists have isolated (extracted) enzymes
from almost every type of living organisms

For years, many of the biological catalysts
have been successfully utilized for agricultural
and industrial purposes

It is important to note that animals, plants,
and microorganisms all yield industrially
important enzymes
Where Do Enzymes Come From?
Below is a list of industrially important enzymes
and their sources in nature:
Sources of Enzymes
Plant Sources

Malted grains or tuber Amylase
Pineapple Bromelin (Protease)
Fig Tree Ficin (Protease)
Papaya Papain (Protease)
Animal Sources

Liver Catalase (Peroxide Breakdown)
Calf Stomach Rennet/Chymosin (Milk Clotting)
Hog Stomach Pepsin (Protease)
Hog Pancreas Pancreatic Enzymes (Several)
Digestive Tract Trypain (Protease)

Microbial Sources


Fungi (Molds and Yeast) amylase, beta
glucanase, hemicellulase, protease, cellulase,
pectinase, lipase, lactase
Sources of Enzymes (Contd-)
Sources of Enzymes (Contd-)
BACTERIA

Amylase, protease, isomerase, lactase,
rennet, oxidase, catalase, beta-glucanase,
hemicellulase
ENZYMES
During digestion, many important enzymes,
catalyze certain large organic molecules, such as,
starch, cellulose, and protein. This is also known
as "hydrolysis
The enzymes attack these complex molecules,
accelerating their digestion and yielding simpler
substances

Since this process of digestion is referred to as
hydrolysis, such enzymes are considered to be
"hydrolyzing enzymes" or "hydrolases"
The Hydrolyzing enzymes include:
1. Amylases, which catalyze the digestion of
starch into small segments of multiple sugars
and into individual soluble sugars

2. Proteases, (or proteinase), which split up
proteins into their component amino acid
(building blocks)

3. Lipase, which split up animal and vegetable
fats and oils into their component part:
glycerol and fatty acids
The Hydrolyzing enzymes include:
5. Cellulase (of various types) which breaks
down the complex molecule of cellulose into
more digestible components of single and
multiple sugars

6. Beta-glucanase, (or gumase) which digest
one type of vegetable gum into sugars
and/or dextrins

7. Pectinase, which digests pectin and similar
carbohydrates of plant origin
Factors affecting Activity and Stability
of Enzymes
Factors that affect the activity and stability of
enzymes are:

a) pH:

It has a profound effect on enzymes
activity and stability

The biological catalysts produced has an
optimal pH values between 4.0 and 7.5
Another major parameter of enzyme activity
and stability is temperature

b) Temperature

Generally, the optimal temperatures that
improves the degree of enzymes activity ranges
from 98 F to 140 F

Mind you, high temperatures (over 150 F )
have detrimental effect on the enzymes
Factors affecting Activity and Stability
of Enzymes