What is an enzymes chemical nature and role in biochemical r

What is an enzyme\'s chemical nature and role in biochemical reactions?

Solution

Answer:

An enzyme is a protein (most enzymes) or RNA molecule (ribozymes) that functions as a biological catalyst.

Their role in biochemical reactions are as under:

1. It increases the rate of a reaction by decreasing the activation energy of the reaction.

2. Enzymes are specific, that is they catalyze reactions of a particular substrate to produce products.

3. The activity of enzymes in biochemical reactions depends upon various factors such as temperature, pH, enzyme and substrate concentration. Most enzymes have functional optima at 37 °C and the active site gets distorted such that the substrate can longer bind to the enzyme.