INTRODUCTION

TO
BIOCHEMISTRY

Prepared by:

Justin Brian Chiongson, M. Sc., RCh

Relicardo M. Coloso, Ph. D., RCh
 I ST RY ?
I O CHE M
HAT I S B
W
 BIOCHEMISTRY

• chemistry of life processes

• Study of life at the molecular level
• Studying the chemical processes of living
organisms
 BIOCHEMISTRY
3 primary areas of biochemistry:
1. Structural and functional biochemistry
- focuses initially on discovering the chemical
structures and three-dimensional arrangements of
biomolecules (protein, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic
acids), those chemicals that are found in living
matter

2. Informational biochemistry
- defines the language(s) for storing biological data
and for transmitting that data in cells and organisms.
 BIOCHEMISTRY

3. Bioenergetics
- describes the flow of energy in living
organisms and how it may be transferred from
one process to another.
 M I ST RY
B I O C H E
D I D
HOW E TO B E ?
CO M
 History of Biochemistry

• The Chinese in the fourth century B.C.

believed that humans contained five
elements: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth.

• When all elements were present in proper

balance, good health resulted. An imbalance
in the elements caused illness.
 History of Biochemistry

• The early Greeks, including Plato (428–348

B.C.), attempted to explain the body in terms
of cosmological theories and stressed diet for
treatment of disease.

• The Greek term for digestion, pepsis, a word

indicating inner heat, is the origin of the word
pepsin, a digestive enzyme.
 History of Biochemistry
• The Greek physician Galen (A.D. 129–199) campaigned
for a pharmacological approach using plant and animal
products for disease treatment.

• Paracelsus (A.D. 1493–1541) asserted that man is made

out of the same material as the rest of creation.

• Chinese physicians discovered in the seventh century

A.D. that night blindness could be treated with pig and
sheep livers.
 History of Biochemistry

• Fredrich Wöhler (1800-1882) demonstrated in

1828 that urea, a compound that had only
been associated with living cells, could be
synthesized from an inorganic compound
outside of the cell.

• 1903: Neuberg defined Biochemistry as the

CHEMISTRY OF LIFE
Development of Biochemistry
Development of Biochemistry
Development of Biochemistry
 A R E T H E
W H A T E ?
S O F L I F
R I B U T E
ATT
 Origins of life on earth
• About 4 billion years ago, life arose on earth
• Simple organisms that were able to extract
energy from organic compounds or from
sunlight, which they used to make more
complex biomolecules from the simple
elements and compounds on the surface of
the earth.
 BIOCHEMISTRY
Attributes of Life – distinguishing features of
living organisms
1. High degree of Complexity and Organization
2. Possess a characteristic size and shape
3. Growth and Repair
4. Reproduction
5. Metabolism
6. Adaptation
7. Regulation
 BIOCHEMISTRY
Attributes of Life
8. Response to stimuli or sensitivity
9. Variation and Change
10. Stereospecificity
12. Systems for extracting, transforming,
and using energy from the environment
 C E S O R
U B S TA N
E T H E S G
T A R R N I N
WHA U L E S G O V E
MO L EC T RY ?
H E M I S
BI O C
 BIOCHEMISTRY
Chemicals of Life
• Water
Human cells (70%), Blood (80%), whole body
(60-70%)
• Organic Compounds
Nucleic Acids, Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats and
Lipids
• Inorganic Compounds
Bulk elements: N, Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K, and Ca
Trace elements: Fe, Zn, I, Ar, Br, Mo, V
Functional Groups

Biomolecules
-compounds of
carbon with a
variety of
functional groups
 BIOCHEMISTRY
• Small molecules:
– Lipid, phospholipid, glycolipid, sterol,
– Vitamin
– Hormone, neurotransmitter
– Carbohydrate, sugar
• Monomers:
– Amino acids
– Nucleotides
– Monosaccharides
• Polymers:
– Peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides, proteins
– Nucleic acids, i.e. DNA, RNA
– Oligosaccharides, polysaccharides (including cellulose )
 S P EC I A L
AT I S S O
W H B O N ?
U T C A R
A B O
 Chemistry of carbon
• Carbon is a tetravalent atom

• Carbon can form single, double,

and triple bonds

• Carbon atoms are able to bond

together to form long chains and
rings.