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Enzymes and enzymatic reactions Q1. The primary function of enzymes in the human body is to increase the rate at which a given biological reaction takes place. There are many different types of enzymes produced in the human body, and all catalyze a particular reaction i.e. enzymes work on specific substrates. They are found in body fluids including blood, saliva, and digestive juices. Some of the reactions that enzymes catalyze are digestion (enzyme amylase increases the rate at which starch is broken down to maltose) and blood clotting (enzyme thrombin increases the rate of clotting) (Frey and Hegeman). Q2. The enzyme amylase is produced by the salivary glands (salivary amylase) and in the pancreas (pancreatic amylase). Salivary amylase breaks down starch in the mouth into maltose which is absorbed by the body into the bloodstream. All the carbohydrates in the food cannot be exhaustively digested in the mouth. Pancreatic amylase moves to the small intestines through ducts where it completes the digestion of carbohydrates by breaking them into glucose which is absorbed into the bloodstream. This completes the digestion of carbohydrates (Frey and Hegeman). Q3.Competitive inhibition is the situation where both the substrate and the inhibitor are struggling to get bound to the active sites of the enzymes. Enzymes have active sites. It is at this sites that substrate is bound during a reaction. This site is specific to a particular type of substrate. An inhibitor is any material other than the substrate that attaches itself to the active site of an enzyme preventing the substrate from connecting to the site and therefore decreasing the rate of reaction. An active site can
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