The purpose of this investigation is to explore multicellular organisms in particular the nature of digestive enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that act to catalyse reactions in order to bring about a specific change or effect. Enzymes are specific which means each enzyme has a particular purpose and reaction to catalyse (BBC, 2014). This is due to the substrate that the enzyme acts with that has a particular shape to connect with the enzymes active site. The way enzymes work and fit together can be demonstrated through a lock and key model (refer to figure 1). In this analogy the lock is the enzyme and the key is the substrate; only a specific key (substrate) fits into the key hole (active site) of the lock (enzyme). This analogy explains why
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The existence of enzymes is essential in order to control the speed that chemical reactions take place in the body. Without enzymes reactions would occur too slowly; to maintain body function. They are therefore necessary for digestion, stimulating the brain, providing energy and for repairing and maintaining tissue, organs and cells (AIM International Partners, 1997). There are several factors that affect enzyme activity including temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, substrate concentration, surface area of and the presence of any inhibitors or activators (Worthington Biochemical Corporation, 2015). These factors affect enzyme activity as they change the nature and efficiency of the enzyme’s ability to catalyse reactions.
This report explores digestive enzymes in particular. Digestive enzymes are enzymes that work to chemically digest food and they increase the rate of breakdown of food molecules. There are three main types of digestive enzymes including amylases, which act on carbohydrates; proteases, which act on proteins and lipases which act on lipids. In this experiment the digestive enzyme pepsin is explored which acts on proteins. Pepsin is the …show more content…
The protein being used is albumin (egg-white) as it is a simple protein which pepsin can effectively break down. In order to discover the effect of pH levels on pepsin enzyme activity, the pH level will be the independent variable in the experiment. Varying pH values will be tested in order to gain a range of results and to highlight that pepsin has an optimal pH range in which it perform most effectively. The range of pH values being tested are 0.3, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 9.0 and 12 in order to collect a wide spread of data. The completion of the reaction will be indicated when the solution transforms from cloudy white into a clear solution. This will show that the substrate has been fully broken down and in order to test the efficiency the time it takes for the reaction to occur will be recorded. However, it is expected that for the higher pH values no reaction will occur as the enzyme or substrate will be denatured or not activated (Refer to Appendix 1 for detailed, original experimental
The existence of enzymes is essential in order to control the speed that chemical reactions take place in the body. Without enzymes reactions would occur too slowly; to maintain body function. They are therefore necessary for digestion, stimulating the brain, providing energy and for repairing and maintaining tissue, organs and cells (AIM International Partners, 1997). There are several factors that affect enzyme activity including temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, substrate concentration, surface area of and the presence of any inhibitors or activators (Worthington Biochemical Corporation, 2015). These factors affect enzyme activity as they change the nature and efficiency of the enzyme’s ability to catalyse reactions.
This report explores digestive enzymes in particular. Digestive enzymes are enzymes that work to chemically digest food and they increase the rate of breakdown of food molecules. There are three main types of digestive enzymes including amylases, which act on carbohydrates; proteases, which act on proteins and lipases which act on lipids. In this experiment the digestive enzyme pepsin is explored which acts on proteins. Pepsin is the …show more content…
The protein being used is albumin (egg-white) as it is a simple protein which pepsin can effectively break down. In order to discover the effect of pH levels on pepsin enzyme activity, the pH level will be the independent variable in the experiment. Varying pH values will be tested in order to gain a range of results and to highlight that pepsin has an optimal pH range in which it perform most effectively. The range of pH values being tested are 0.3, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 9.0 and 12 in order to collect a wide spread of data. The completion of the reaction will be indicated when the solution transforms from cloudy white into a clear solution. This will show that the substrate has been fully broken down and in order to test the efficiency the time it takes for the reaction to occur will be recorded. However, it is expected that for the higher pH values no reaction will occur as the enzyme or substrate will be denatured or not activated (Refer to Appendix 1 for detailed, original experimental