Enzymes (I gave this in in my book so do not copy word for word)

Enzymes are biological catalysts, which mean that they remain unchanged at the end of the reactions that they speed up in your body without being used up. They’re made of protein, delicately folded and linked chains of amino acids, enabling them to be recycled and reused by the body at the end of the digestive system. There are 6 main groups of enzymes within your body that accomplish different types of reactions. Hydrolyses, for example, enhance the rate of hydrolysis reactions.  Enzymes can be used to help the body but in some cases pathogens such as a bacterium called coagulases can use enzymes to help overcome the body’s defences. There are also enzymes found in plants that help in photosynthesis. Enzymes are produced in the salivary glands, pancreas, small intestine and stomach in the body. They can denature, so stop working, if placed in an overly acidic / alkaline place or if the temperature rises too high. If the PH changes in the place the enzyme is inhabiting it may change the amino acid which it contains and so leads to the changing shape of the active site. If the active site changes then the enzyme is rendered useless, unable to perform the task it is made to do. The active site of an enzyme is the area in the enzyme that the chemical reaction occurs. It’s here that the substrate, e.g starch, fits in with the enzyme, amylase, completing its complex shape, and evolves into its product - sugars.

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