The Uses of Enzymes In Industry, Medicine and Analytical and Diagnostic Processes

The Uses of Enzymes In Industry, Medicine and Analytical and Diagnostic Processes

Enzymes are very precise protein molecules with a high specificity

which are used to catalyse chemical reactions by lowering the

activation energy required for the reaction to take place. It is these

properties of being able to break down substances easily and bind

specifically to certain chemicals that make enzymes very useful in

many industries and practices throughout the world. In addition to

this enzymes are not used up in experiments so products of processes

are not contaminated with enzyme which could be a problem. This essay

explains 3 uses of enzymes, in industry and food, diagnosing and

analysing, and treating disease, explaining the function and

advantages of enzyme use in each example.

In industry enzymes are used for many processes such as brewing beer,

baking bread, using pectinase to increase juice in fruit juice drinks

and protease enzymes in washing detergents. Another example of the use

of enzymes in industry is animal feeding. Many monogastric species

such as poultry are fed food with enzymes added which break down

substances in the food which the species body cannot digest. Many

foodstuffs for farm animals such as wheat, rye, barley and oats

contain non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) which are an example of ANFs

(anti-nutritional factors). They cannot be broken down by the

monogastric species so the substance would build up in the body and

cause digestive problems leading to other enzymes not being able to

function properly. In addition to this NSPs are soluble and so can

dissolve in the body but this increases viscosity in the

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