BIOL111 Introduction to Biology

Enzymes are the biocatalysts that help accelerate the biochemical reactions within living organisms. They are extracted from the cells and then used for various commercial and industrial purposes. Most enzymes are made up of proteins and some of RNA and are specific for every reaction (Robinson).

Enzyme in cleaning product: One of the cleaning products found in every household is laundry detergent. It contains enzymes, and their main task is the removal of stains that are of plant and animal origin. Another task is the prevention of soils from spreading throughout by redeposition. The enzyme widely used in detergents is a hydrolase. They help in the removal of lipids, polysaccharides and protein soils. The other stains such as grass, blood, egg, vegetable and animal fat are removed with the help of different hydrolases added to the detergents. The substrate to which the enzymes get attached is the dirt/soil/stain in the clothes. The enzymes help in solubilizing the dirt on the fabric. The end product is amino acids and clean, dirt/stain free clothes (“A beginner’s guide”).

Enzyme in the industry: Microbial enzymes for industrial applications can be cultured by gene manipulations. Their applications in the industries are numerous and rapidly increasing because of greater efficiency, less harm caused to the environment and products of high quality. Enzymes are used in the leather industry for the processing of skins and hides. The different stages of leather processing are curing, liming, soaking, dehairing, picking, bating, degreasing and tanning (Singh et al.). One of the various enzymes used in the leather industry is proteases. They are used in alkaline as well as neutral forms. Proteases are used for dehairing and dewooling of leather. They also improve leather quality by cleaning and making the surface more robust, producing soft leather and removing the spots from the skin. The alkaline proteases are added during the soaking stage (Singhania et al.). The proteases used along with hydrogen sulfide are used for hair root solubilization. The hair roots are the substrate in the reaction as proteases act on the proteins, and hair is composed of keratin protein. The end product is amino acids and hair-free skin for leather processing (Ward, O.P.)

Enzyme in food: The enzymes used in food industries are extracted from the microbes since they are more stable than those extracted from an animal or a plant source (Raveendran et al.). Enzymes that can be found in foods include amylase (found in honey, banana mangoes), protease (found in papaya in the form of papain), lipase (found in avocados) (Key). In the human body, the amylase enzyme is secreted by the salivary glands and pancreas and is called salivary amylase and pancreatic amylase, respectively. Amylase enzyme hydrolyses the glycosidic bonds found in the starch molecules, thus converting the complex carbohydrates into simple sugar molecules. The substrate on which the enzyme amylase acts is the polysaccharide starch composed of amylose and amylopectin. When the enzyme amylase acts on the starch molecule, the end product is the disaccharide maltose composed of two molecules of glucose (Akinfemiwa and Muniraj).

Reference List:

“A beginner’s guide to enzymes in detergents”. Novozymes, https://biosolutions.novozymes.com/en/dish/insights/article/beginners-guide-enzymes-detergents. Accessed 2 February 2022.

Akinfemiwa, Ololade, and Thiruvengadam Muniraj. Amylase. StatPearls Publishing, 2021.

Key, Alyson Powell. “What are Digestive Enzymes?” WebMD, 29 November 2021, https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-are-digestive-enzymes. Accessed 2 February 2022.

Raveendran, Sindhu, et al. “Applications of microbial enzymes in food industry”. Food Technology & Biotechnology, vol. 56, no. 1, 2018, pp. 16-30. 10.17113/ftb.56.01.18.5491

Robinson, Peter K. “Enzymes: principles and biotechnological applications”. Essays in Biochemistry, vol.59, 2015, pp. 1-41, https://doi.org/10.1042/bse0590001.

Singh, Rajendra, et al. “Microbial enzymes: industrial progress in 21^st century”. 3 Biotech, vol. 6, no. 2, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-016-0485-8.

Singhania, Reeta, et al. “Industrial Biorefineries & White Biotechnology”. Elsevier, 2015.

Ward, O.P. “Proteases”. Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection, 604-615, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-64046-8.00187-7.

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