Enzymes lab report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Enzymes - Lab Report Example Enzymes can be defined as biological molecules that catalyze metabolic reactions that sustain life. Enzymes are made of a complex protein and catalyze specific chemical changes within the body of animals and plants such as digestion of food to produce nutrients for the living organism thus the activity of all enzymes are controlled by the enzymes. Enzymes exhibit three major characteristics: increase rate of reaction, act specifically only in one substrate to produce products and can be regulated from a level of high activity to low activity and vice versa. This can be achieved by regulating certain factors affecting enzyme activity such as substrate concentration, pH, enzyme concentration and temperature (Bettelheim, et al, 2007). Lactase is a digestive enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of lactose, a disaccharide sugar into simple sugars that can easily be digested. Lactose structure is made up of two rings which require a lot of energy to be broken down into two molecules of simple sugars. Lactose enzyme catalyzes this reaction by reducing the amount of energy required for the hydrolysis of lactose into two molecules of monosaccharide (Jones et al 2013). Lactase is an essential enzyme for mammals necessary to breakdown lactose into simple sugars that can easily be absorbed, thus in lactating animals, this enzyme is available. However, as human beings grow older, they lose their ability to produce lactase enzyme, a condition often referred to as lactose intolerant. Many biotechnology companies have come up with high quantities of lactase enzyme which is used by lactose intolerant individuals. In this regard, lactase enzyme is added into milk thus lactose is predigested before ingestion. In the definition of enzyme above, we mentioned that enzymes are proteins hence just like other proteins; temperatures are likely to affect them. According to (), high temperatures