COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

CHAPTER IV
ENZYMES
Prepared by:
Prof. Nemia T. Dacumos

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An enzyme is an organic compound that acts as a catalyst for a biochemical
reaction. Each cell in the human body contains thousands of different enzymes
because almost every reaction in a cell requires its own specific enzyme. Enzymes
cause cellular reactions to occur millions of times faster than corresponding
uncatalyzed reactions. As catalysts, enzymes are not consumed during the reaction
but merely help the reaction occur more rapidly.

The word enzyme comes from the Greek words en, which means “in,” and zyme,
which means “yeast.” Long before their chemical nature was understood, yeast
enzymes were used in the production of bread and alcoholic beverages. The action
of yeast on sugars produces the carbon dioxide gas that causes bread to rise (see
Figure 21.1). Fermentation of sugars in fruit juices with the same yeast enzymes
produces alcoholic beverages.

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Enzymes undergo all the reactions of proteins,
including denaturation. Slight alterations in pH,
temperature, or other protein denaturants affect
enzyme activity dramatically.

Good cooks realize that overheating yeast kills the

action of the yeast.

A person suffering from a high fever (greater than

106F) runs the risk of denaturing certain enzymes.

The biochemist must exercise extreme caution in

handling enzymes to avoid the loss of their activity.
Even vigorous shaking of an enzyme solution can
destroy enzyme activity.

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Enzyme Structure
Enzymes can be divided into two general structural classes: simple enzymes and
conjugated enzymes.
1. simple enzyme -is an enzyme composed only of protein (amino acid chains).

2. conjugated enzyme-is an enzyme that has a nonprotein part in addition to a protein

part. By itself, neither the protein part nor the nonprotein portion of a conjugated
enzyme has catalytic properties.

Apoenzyme- is the protein part of a conjugated enzyme.

Cofactor- is the nonprotein part of a conjugated enzyme. It is the combination of
apoenzyme with cofactor that produces a biochemically active enzyme.
Holoenzyme- is a biochemically active conjugated enzyme produced from an apoenzyme
and a cofactor.

Apoenzyme + cofactor = holoenzyme

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• Cofactors provide additional chemically reactive functional groups besides those
present in the amino acid side chains of apoenzymes.
• A cofactor is generally either a small organic molecule or an inorganic ion (usually
a metal ion).
• Typical inorganic ion cofactors include Zn2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, and Fe2+.
• The nonmetallic Cl- ion occasionally acts as a cofactor.
• Dietary minerals are an important source inorganic ion cofactors.

• A coenzyme is a small organic molecule that serves as a cofactor in a

conjugated enzyme. Many vitamins have coenzyme functions in the human body.

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Nomenclature and Classification of Enzymes
Enzymes are most commonly named by using a system that attempts to provide
information about the function (rather than the structure) of the enzyme.

Type of reaction catalyzed and substrate identity are focal points for the nomenclature.

A substrate is the reactant in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The substrate is the

substance upon which the enzyme “acts.”

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Solution

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Models of Enzyme Action

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Enzyme Specificity

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Factors that affect Enzyme Activity

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Enzyme Inhibition

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Regulation of Enzyme Activity

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Allosteric Enzymes

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Feedback Control

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Proteolytic Enzymes and Zymogens

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Covalent Modification of Enzymes

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Antibiotics that inhibit Enzyme Activity

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Medical Uses of Enzymes

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General Characteristics of Vitamins

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Water Soluble Vitamins

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Fat Soluble Vitamins

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• Beta-carotene cleavage does not always occur in the “middle” of the molecule,
so only one molecule of A is produced.
• Furthermore, not all beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A, and its absorption
is not as efficient as that of vitamin A itself.
• It is estimated that 6 mg of beta-carotene is needed to produce 1 mg retinol.
• Unconverted beta-carotene serves as an antioxidant, a role independent of its
conversion to vitamin.

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Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is
sometimes called the “sunshine
vitamin” because of its synthesis in
the skin by sunlight irradiation.

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Milk is enriched in vitamin D by exposure to ultraviolet light. Cholesterol in milk is
converted to cholecalciferol (vitamin D) by ultraviolet light. Vitamin D3
(cholecalciferol) is sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because of its synthesis
in the skin by sunlight irradiation.

When it comes to strong bones, calcium won’t do you a lot of good unless you are
also getting enough vitamin D. In one study, women consuming 500 IU of vitamin D
a day had a 37% lower risk of hip fracture than women consuming only 140 IU daily
of vitamin D. Some researchers now recommend a standard of 800–1000 IU per day
instead of the long-established standard recommendation for Vitamin D of 400 IU
per day.

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REFERENCE
General, Organic and Biological Chemistry. H. Stephen Stoker. 5th edition.

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