Did You Know?
Enzymes
An organisms’ (humans, animals or plants) ability to carry out chemical reactions is not possible without enzymes. Enzymes are a very large and complex protein molecule. They are the catalysts or the workers of the body.
There are an estimated 75,000 different enzymes in the human body that perform chemical reactions at an amazing rate. Enzymes are very specific to which substrate or molecule they work on. It is like a lock and key relationship between enzymes and substrates.
Enzymes are like the locks and substrates are like the keys. Only certain substrates can fit into certain enzymes for the desired reaction to occur. That may explain why there are so many different enzymes. Enzymes can either launch a reaction or speed it up. They are also never wasted and always recycled.