Exploring The Role Of Enzymes In The Human Body

Enzymes are naturally occurring catalysts; they speed up biological reactions. Enzymes are unique three dimensional structures of protein made up of strands of amino acid. They usually only work within a certain pH range, usually about from 5 to 9. The same is true for temperature. Enzymes usually only show activity between 0˚C and 100˚C. They are not effective if the temperature is too high or too low.
Enzymes work as a catalyst in a reaction: lowering the activation energy so that the reaction can occur faster or more easily. They speed up the rate of reaction in cells. For each substance, there is an enzyme. Active sites on the enzymes interact with their corresponding substance and the two work together to speed up the reaction.
Catalase is an enzyme that is a catalyst for the reaction of hydrogen peroxide. In the body, catalase is present in all of the organs but the most in the liver and erythrocytes. In nature, catalase is present in all living organisms such as plants, animals, and bacteria that are exposed to oxygen. In all of these, catalase helps in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

Certain cells produce it to fight the infection, depending on where it is. However, too much of it in the body can be damaging to DNA and proteins so the amount of hydrogen peroxide in the body must be regulated. Different agents regulate the amount in the body or use catalase to break the excess into water and oxygen.
Certain organisms are without catalase. To test if a species can produce catalase or not, microbiologists can mix hydrogen peroxide with the organism, such as bacteria, and see if any reaction occurs. If bubbles form, then catalase is used to produce oxygen and