Peroxidase Essay

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Recommended: effect of varying ph on enzyme activity

Introduction Enzymes are used in chemical reactions to speed up the reaction that is occurring and are biological catalysts. Enzymes can participate in a chemical reaction without being used up or destroyed, in normal conditions (Morris, Hartl, Knoll, & Lue, 2013). Although enzymes can go from one chemical reaction to another, only certain substrates, or reactants, can be paired with certain enzymes such as peroxidase to hydrogen peroxide as performed in Lab 20. These substrates bind to small caverns in the enzymes called active sites, and the chemical reaction begins (Morris et al., 2013).
Both the pH of solutions and substrate concentration play a role in enzyme structure and function. Enzyme function and the amount of substrate used are directly proportional. As the amount of substrate included in the chemical …show more content…

When analyzed, the data showed the enzyme had the most activity at pH 5 by a large margin. The other pH balances did not come near this value. The pH with the lowest enzyme activity was pH 9 with the value of 0.00005. PH 3 and 7 differed in value by 0.000133 in enzyme activity with pH 7 being more functional. This data implies that the optimal pH balance for peroxidase was 5; any higher or lower pH balances, such as the ones tested, denature the enzyme or have a slower reaction speed than the optimum.
Although the optimal pH for peroxidase was pH 5, most enzymes function the smoothest at pH levels between six and eight (Certificate Biology). For example, the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for breaking down lactose, has an optimal pH of 6 (Siskin). On the other end of the spectrum pepsin, found in stomach acid, has an optimum that functions the best between 1.5 and 1.6 pH (Worthington Biochemical Corporation). The enzyme peroxidase is between the two enzymes, lactase and pepsin; all three of these enzymes have an optimal pH that is in the acidic end of the

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