The Characteristics of Enzymes in the Body Essay

The Characteristics of Enzymes in the Body - Essay Example The essay "The Characteristics of Enzymes in the Body" talks about the organic compounds that catalyze biochemical reactions. As they are catalysts, they are not consumed in the reaction but instead, facilitate a faster reaction rate. Enzymes in the body are mostly globular proteins or conjugated proteins. While almost all the known enzymes are proteins, enzymes such as RNase made of ribonucleic acids have also been discovered. Enzymes undergo denaturation upon slight variations in temperature and pH, as well as in the presence of chemicals that are protein denaturants. Enzymes work best at a particular optimum temperature and pH specific to that enzyme. Denaturation of an enzyme occurs when the shape of the enzyme is altered by changes in temperature and pH, both of which affect the protein structure of the enzyme. Denaturation results in the deactivation or loss of enzymatic function of an enzyme. Above and below the optimum temperature and pH, the activity of the enzyme either slo ws down or comes to a halt. Certain chemicals called inhibitors also affect the functioning of an enzyme. Inhibitors deactivate enzymes in several ways. They may bind to the active site of an enzyme and alter its shape, resulting in an inhibition of its catalytic activity. The catalytic activity of enzymes is not only affected by the pH and temperature, but also the concentration of the substrate and the product. As the concentration of the substrate increases, the enzymatic activity also increases up to certain substrate concentration.