CLASS 8 BIOLOGY
HUMAN NUTRITION
Enzymes:
Are catalysts that speed up the rate of a chemical reaction without being
changed or used up in the reaction
Are proteins
Are biological catalysts (biological because they are made in living cells,
catalysts because they speed up the rate of chemical reactions without being
changed)
Enzymes are necessary to all living organisms as they maintain reaction
speeds of all metabolic reactions (all the reactions that keep an organism
alive) at a rate that can sustain life
For example, if we did not produce digestive enzymes, it would take around 2
– 3 weeks to digest one meal; with enzymes, it takes around 4 hours
How Do Enzymes Work?
Enzymes are specific to one particular substrate (molecule/s that get broken
down or joined together in the reaction) as the enzyme is a complementary
shape to the substrate
The product is made from the substrate(s) and is released
Enzyme specificity: lock and key model of enzyme activity
Enzyme Specificity
Enzymes are specific to one particular substrate(s) as the active site of the
enzyme, where the substrate attaches, is a complementary shape to the
substrate
This is because the enzyme is a protein and has a specific 3-D shape
This is known as the lock and key hypothesis
When the substrate moves into the enzyme’s active site they become known
as the enzyme-substrate complex
After the reaction has occurred, the products leave the enzyme’s active site as
they no longer fit it and it is free to take up another substrate
How enzymes work
1. Enzymes and substates randomly move about in solution
2. When an enzyme and its
complementary substrate randomly collide – with the substrate fitting into the active
site of the enzyme – an enzyme-substrate complex forms, and the reaction occurs.
3. A product (or products) forms from the substrate(s) which are then released from
the active site. The enzyme is unchanged and will go on to catalyse further reactions.
Effect of Temperature on Enzyme Function
Enzymes are proteins and have a specific shape, held in place by bonds
This is extremely important around the active site area as the specific shape is
what ensures the substrate will fit into the active site and enable the reaction
to proceed
Enzymes work fastest at their ‘optimum temperature’ – in the human body,
the optimum temperature is 37⁰C
Heating to high temperatures (beyond the optimum) will break the
bonds that hold the enzyme together and it will lose its shape -this is known
as denaturation
Substrates cannot fit into denatured enzymes as the shape of their active site
has been lost
Denaturation is irreversible – once enzymes are denatured they cannot regain
their proper shape and activity will stop
Effect of temperature on enzyme activity
Increasing the temperature from 0⁰C to the optimum increases the activity of
enzymes as the more energy the molecules have the faster they move and the
number of collisions with the substrate molecules increases, leading to a faster rate
of reaction
This means that low temperatures do not denature enzymes, they just make them
work more slowly
Graph showing the effect of temperature on enzyme activity.
Effect of pH on Enzyme Function
The optimum pH for most enzymes is 7 but some that are produced in acidic
conditions, such as the stomach, have a lower optimum pH (pH 2) and some
that are produced in alkaline conditions, such as the duodenum, have a
higher optimum pH (pH 8 or 9)
If the pH is too high or too low, the bonds that hold the amino acid chain
together to make up the protein can be destroyed
This will change the shape of the active site, so the substrate can no longer fit
into it, reducing the rate of activity
Moving too far away from the optimum pH will cause the enzyme to
denature and activity will stop
