Introduction
Enzyme activity is affected and influenced by several factors amongst which include temperature, pH level among others. High temperatures, for instance, denatures the enzymes hence inhibiting their activity, low temperature, on the other hand, inactivates the enzymes making them unable to digest the food. Enzymes are catalysts which mean that they mediate the digestion of food and their assimilation into the blood streams. They oversee the conversion of the substrate into products without being destroyed or changed in any way. (Cohen, pp134)
The enzymes have a primary and tertiary structure. The tertiary structures of an enzyme are important in the role of the enzyme as a catalyst because the enzyme requires the three-way dimensional active site which helps the enzyme to be active at all times. (Ottaway, pp154) The enzymes also have an active site which is a point of attachment of the enzymes and substrates for an effective substrate digestion.
So many factors can influence the activity rates of an enzyme. For instance, hydrogen ion concentration, pH, is a common inhibitor. Every enzyme is both substrate specific and, as a result, pH specific. An enzyme such as salivary amylase, which acts on starch in the mouth, when exposed to an acidic environment cannot work best, and the same applies to all other enzymes. The enzymes are also affected by enzyme inhibitors. Some of these inhibitors have blocked the active sites hence making the enzymes unable to react with the substrates.
Methods
Results
In a reaction that depicts a high slope, it represents a high rate of reaction and as a result, it registers a higher turnover number. The contrary is true when the slope of the data is low, and then it means that the rate of reaction of the experiment is low, and so the turnover number is also lower in the experiment.
Discussion
The enzymes are put in heat blocks, and water baths are meant to raise the temperature of the enzymes and helped prove a hypothesis. High temperatures denature the enzymes inhibiting their functionality. Enzymes are often sensitive to temperature change (Kuldiloke, pp122). They, therefore, need the optimal temperature to reach their optimal functionality. The optimal temperature is reached when the reaction rate reaches its maximum as well as the turnover number. Very high temperatures lead to denaturing of enzymes which result in little or no reaction at all. At this state, the turnover number is also very low. (Chaplin, pp254) At the normal temperatures, the rate of enzymatic actions is normal. There are no extreme rates of reactions, but when the temperatures fall to the ground, the enzymes become inactive, and, therefore, the reaction rate becomes very slow or no reaction at all (Likhtenshteĭn, pp155).
Works Cited
Cohen, P. Control of Enzyme Activity. London: Chapman and Hall, 1976. Print.
Ottaway, J H. Regulation of Enzyme Activity. Oxford: IRL Press, 1988. Print.
Kuldiloke, Jarupan. Effect of Ultrasound, Temperature and Pressure Treatments on Enzyme Activity and Quality Indicators of Fruit and Vegetable Juices. S.l: s.n., 2002. Print.
Chaplin, M F. Protein Structure and Enzyme Activity. Oxford: IRL Press, 1986. Computer file.
Likhtenshteĭn, G I. New Trends in Enzyme Catalysis and Biomimetic Chemical Reactions. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. Print.
