Preview

Enzymatic Activity of Salivary Amylase

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1827 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Enzymatic Activity of Salivary Amylase
Enzymatic Activity of Salivary Amylase
Abstract: Salivary amylase is an enzyme that can digest starch molecules and break them down to sugar molecules. In this experiment, the enzymatic activity and specificity of salivary amylase was examined depending on the changes in pH and temperature. In the first part of the experiment, the effect of temperature was determined, using constant temperature bath (4, room temp, 37, 50, 60, and 70°C). Having the room temp and 50°C as the highest and 37°C as infinite. In the second part of the experiment, the effect of pH was examined. Using the buffered solutions: acetate solutions (pH 4 and 5), phosphate buffer (pH 6.7 and 8), and bicarbonate buffer (pH 10). The results were recorded having all of them as infinite.
Keywords: enzyme, infinite, pH, temperature, salivary amylase, starch

I. Introduction
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze or speed up the rate of chemical reactions. Like all catalysts, enzymes work by lowering the activation energy for the reaction, thus dramatically increasing the rate of reaction.[1] As with all catalysts, enzymes are not consumed by the reactions they catalyze nor do they alter the equilibrium of these reactions. All known enzymes are proteins, they are high molecular weight compounds made up principally of chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. See Figure 1.

Figure 1. Typical protein structure – two amino acids joined by peptide bonds Enzymes require the presence of other compounds - cofactors - before their catalytic activity can be exerted. This entire active complex is referred to as the holoenzyme; i.e., apoenzyme (protein portion) plus the cofactor (coenzyme, prosthetic group or metal-ionactivator) is called the holoenzyme.[1] Figure 2. Haloenzymes – apoenzymes plus various types of cofactors

One of the properties of enzymes that make them so important as diagnostic and research tools is the specificity they exhibit relative to the reactions they



References: [1] Bennett, T. P. & Frieden, E. Modern Topics in Biochemistry, pg. 43-45, Macmillan, London (1969). [2] Holum, J. Elements of General and Biological Chemistry, 2nd ed., 377, Wiley, NY (1968). [3] Pfeiffer, J. Enzymes, the Physics and Chemistry of Life, pg 171-173, Simon and Schuster, NY (1954) [4] Martinek, R. Practical Clinical Enzymology: J. Am. Med. Tech., 31, 162 (1969). [5] Harrow, B., and Mazur, A.: Textbook of Biochemistry, 109, Saunders, Philadelphia (1958).

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Potato Enzyme Lab

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This was conducted through four different experiments. The first tested the effect of temperature on enzyme activity. The independent variable in the first experiment was the temperature of the solution of pH 7 buffer, potato juice, and the enzyme. The independent variable for the second experiment was the pH of the phosphate buffer. The independent variable for the third experiment was the enzyme concentration of the solution, and finally the independent variable of the fourth experiment was the substrate concentration.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Enzymes

    • 2259 Words
    • 10 Pages

    enzyme, as well as a discussion of how structure and function of enzymes are affected…

    • 2259 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    2. Voet, D. and Voet, J. (2004). Biochemistry 3rd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, 6.3Bc p 139.…

    • 1380 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Enzymes are protein, they are used to catalyse metabolisms in all organisms. They break down complex molecules and build up complex molecules from simple molecules, these two processes are catabolic reaction and anabolic reaction respectively. Enzymes are needed in these two processes to catalyse releasing and taking up ATP molecules.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biology Eei Enzymes

    • 6364 Words
    • 26 Pages

    David W. Ball, J. W. H. R. J. S., 2011. Enzyme Action . In: The Basics of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry . s.l.:s.n., p. 692.…

    • 6364 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Enzymes: Lab Report

    • 2612 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Enzymes are a key aspect in our everyday life and are a key to sustaining life. They are biological catalysts that help speed up the rate of reactions. They do this by lowering the activation energy of chemical reactions (Biology Department, 2011).…

    • 2612 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Enzyme Lab Using Jello

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The substrate is the reactant that an enzyme acts upon as it catalyzes a chemical reaction. (Giuseppe, M 2002, p. 69). The substrate is bound to a specific site on the enzyme and only that specific enzyme can act on a specific substrate. Some enzymes in the body require either non-protein cofactor or a coenzyme which enables the enzyme to carry out its specific function. A non-protein cofactor found in the body of humans is called insulin. Insulin brings the glucose from red blood cells pass the cell membrane and into the cell.…

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Elliot WH, Elliot DC: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Third Edition, 2005, Oxford University Press: New York, USA…

    • 1779 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The purpose of this lab was to check the time needed for salivary amylase and phosphorylase to produce a negative result and how different concentrations affected those times. Enzymes are biological catalysts that can cause a specific chemical change in any part of the body (Walsh, 2002). Many of the reactions that take place within a cell would normally take place at temperatures substantially higher than those present inside a cell (Alberts et al., 2010). Because of this, these chemical reactions require the assistance of enzymes to catalyze the reaction and allow it reaction to occur quickly (Alberts et al., 2010). The substrate binds with the active site on the enzyme to form a substrate enzyme complex (Di Giuseppe, 2002). The substrate is then transformed into one or more products, which are released from the active site and the enzyme remains unaltered (Di Giuseppe, 2002).…

    • 2321 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Biology 1 Lab Report

    • 2764 Words
    • 12 Pages

    enable the substrate to bind to the enzyme and form the enzyme substrate complex and…

    • 2764 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Enzymes are proteins which serve to reduce the activation energy required for biological reactions (Russell and others 2010). This allows biologically important chemical reactions to occur rapidly enough to allow cells to carry out their life processes (Russell and others 2010). Enzymes are made of one or more polypeptide strands, which individually or as an associated complex take on a three-dimensional shape. When properly associated, these shapes form the active site and other supporting structures that allow enzymes to be effective catalysts (Nelson and Cox 2005).…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Enzyme Lab

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The purpose of this lab is to explain how enzymes act as catalysts for biological reactions in different temperatures.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Amylase exists in the saliva of humans and certain mammals that catalyze the hydrolysis of starch into smaller carbohydrate molecules or sugars. Alpha-amylase is an abundant component of saliva in…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Pfeiffer, J.: Enzymes, the Physics and Chemistry of Life, pg 171-173, Simon and Schuster, NY (1954)…

    • 2678 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ib Biology Enzymes Ia

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Enzymes are globular proteins, they are responsible for most of the chemical activities of a living organism. They act as catalysts, substances that affects the reaction of other substances without being destroyed or altered during the process. They are extremely efficient in the body system of living organisms, one enzyme may catalyse over a thousand chemical reactions every second. But there are certain conditions that need to be fulfilled in order for the enzymes to work. Temperature of the environment must be correct for each enzyme because different enzymes will have different temperature ranges in which they can live. pH levels in the environment must also be correct because if the environment around the enzyme is too basic or acidic, the enzyme will quickly denature.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays