Enzymes are proteins in body cells, also known as catalysts, that speed up metabolic reactions. Without enzymes, chemical reactions in the body would take many times slower than they do. Enzymes attracts a very specific type of molecule. As you can see in the figure above, the blue shape is an enzyme. It has a specific shape that attracts only the yellow molecules with the shape that matches. In this example the enzyme splits the yellow molecule in half to turn it into two separate molecules. This is a basic example of how the process works.
Every body cell has different enzymes that attract different molecules. Before the molecule goes through the reaction it is called a substrate. After the enzyme changes the molecule it is called the product. The same enzymes can cause thousands of reactions. They are necessary in our body for our metabolism to work efficiently.
About Adam Pegg
