A biocatalyst is an enzyme.
A biocatalyst is an enzyme , according to what the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) points out in its dictionary. This term (enzyme) refers to a protein whose function is to catalyze a specific biochemical reaction that develops the metabolism .
Understanding what a biocatalyst is, therefore, requires us to know the meaning of other concepts. A protein is a substance that is made up of one or more chains of amino acids (organic-type chemicals). The action of catalyzing , for its part, refers to increasing the speed with which a reaction is carried out or to favoring this reaction in some way. Metabolism , finally, is made up of all the chemical reactions that cells develop for the degradation or synthesis of different substances.
Taking this information into account, we can affirm that biocatalysts are responsible for facilitating cell reactions that have the purpose of degrading or synthesizing certain substances.
What are biocatalysts
Beyond the RAE definition, it should be noted that vitamins and hormones are also often mentioned as biocatalysts, in addition to enzymes. Its presence in the body is essential since, otherwise, the chemical reactions would not have any order or could not even be carried out. Biocatalysts can increase or minimize the activation energy so that the reaction is slower or faster, according to the need.
Vitamins, as we have mentioned, are also considered biocatalysts. They can be classified into two groups:
- Water-soluble ones, which are soluble in water and have the peculiarity that they are eliminated quickly through urine. Biocatalysts such as pyridoxine, folic acid, ascorbic acid, biotin and pyridoxine fall within this category.
- Fat-soluble ones, which are soluble in lipids and not in water. This group includes everything from retinol to tocopherol, including calciferol or naphthoquinone.
Vitamins and hormones are also often considered biocatalysts.
The importance of enzymes
Among all biocatalysts, enzymes stand out for their high specificity. These proteins are used in various processes , such as food production, beer brewing, and paper manufacturing.
In addition to all the data presented so far, we can highlight other relevant aspects about enzymes as biocatalysts:
- They work by attracting reagents to their surface and attaching to the substrate.
- According to their composition, they can be divided into two types: holoenzymes , which have a non-protein part (cofactor) and another protein part (apoenzyme); and enzymes that are the result of the sum of one or several protein chains.
- Enzymes can be classified into six main classes: transferases, lyases, ligases, oxidoreductases, hydrolases and isomerases.
- They must have significant catalytic power, have specificity and reversibility, and be effective.