An Assignment on THE INDUSTRIAL AND MEDICINAL USES OF ENZYMES Written by OWHOFOSA AVWEROSUO FOS/SLT/09/10/176425 BCH301 300LEVEL DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTY,

FACULTY OF SCIENCE, DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, ABRAKA August, 2012

THE USE OF ENZYMES IN MEDICINE Enzymes are produced by living cells. They are substances that act as a catalyst in living organism. Increasing the rate at which reactions take place without itself being affected in the process. Without their in the in cells would proceed at a too slow rate to sustain life. Enzymes are used heavily in medicine. These applications include using enzymes as pharmaceutical products. Medical and

pharmaceutical enzymes application generally requires small quantities of highly purified enzymes. Enzymes and enzymegenerated products are administered to patients in very small doses. This is order to avoid possible side effects

1. For Analytical Test Enzymes can be used to detect and measure amount of glucose in the blood. The amount of glucose in the blood and urine is a crucial indicator in the diagnosis of diabetes. This is when there is a deficiency of insulin resulting in high glucose levels in the blood

It is detected using the enzyme glucose oxidase which is impregnated onto a strip of paper and a biosensor. This instrument uses the glucose oxidase as its biological system. The enzyme catalysis the reaction between the glucose and oxygen to form gluconic acid. The biosensor then uses the amount of glucose acid to produce to indicate the quantity of glucose and oxygen that are in the blood. This indicated by a colour change 2. Disease Diagnosis This is because if enzymes are present where they should not be then something may be wrong. An example of this is the case of a damaged liver. Enzymes that would normally be found in the liver, leak into the blood stream. By testing the blood for alternate enzyme activity, liver damage can be confirmed
3.

Prevention of Excessive Blood Clotting

Enzymes are very important in prevention of excessive blood clotting and reducing the tendency for platelets and red blood cells to clog. Enzymes take part in removing metabolic waste and improving circulation. Protease for example, trypsin and chymotrypsin can be used in fibrinolysis; this is when blood clots

form in damaged blood vessels. If these clots are carried to a small artery and may become blocked, a heart attack or stroke can be caused. This can be treated by enzymes such as trypsin and protease. 4. Drug Manufacturing Where the synthesis of drugs is difficult therefore enzymes are used to perform the chemical procedure. Enzymes can also be used to aid digestion where they are used to supplement amylase, lipase and protease produced mainly in the pancreas. An example is lactose intolerant people where they require lactose as their bodies are not producing it.
5.

Production of Antibiotics

In particular penicillin, the major pharmaceutical products produced using the enzyme technology is antibiotics, semisynthetic penicillin. Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by

microorganisms which are effective in dilute solution in

preventing the spread of other microorganisms. One of the best known antibiotics is PENICILLIN. It was found that it acts on growing bacteria killing them and preventing their growth. It is believed to compete with paraamino benzoic acid for the active site of an enzyme. In this way they do not kill the bacteria but simply stop them from reproducing.

INDUSTRIAL USES OF ENZYMES Many enzymes have been genetically modified to be more effective at the desired temperature, pH, or under other manufacturing conditions. Typically inhibitory to enzymes activity (e.g. harsh chemicals) making them more suitable and efficient for industrial or home applications
1.

Stickies Removal:

Enzymes are used by pulp and paper industry for the removal of stickies the glues, adhesive and coatings that are introduced to pulp during recycling of paper. Stickies are held

together by ester bonds and the use of esterase enzymes in pulp has vastly improved their removal. Esterase cut the stickies into smaller, more water soluble compounds,

facilitating their removal from the pulp. Esterase have become a common approach to stickies control

2. Detergents Enzymes have been used in many kinds of detergent for over 30 years. Traditional use of enzymes in laundry detergents involved those that degrade proteins causing stains, such as those found in grass stains, red wine and soil. 3. Textiles Enzymes are now widely used to prepare fabrics, household items; clothing and furniture are made of textiles. Enzymes are used to enhance the preparation of cotton for weaving, reduce impurities, minimise pulls in fabrics or as pre-treatment before dyeing to reduce rinsing time and improve colour quality

4.

Food and Beverages

This is the domestic application of enzyme technology that most people are already familiar with. It is possible to make wine, beer, vinegar, and cheese because of the enzymes in the yeast and bacteria that were utilised. Enzymes can also be used to turn starch into sugar. Corn and wheat syrups are used throughout the food industry as sweeteners. Using enzyme technology, the production of these sweeteners can be less expensive than using sugar cane sugar. 5. Fermentation Yeast feed on the sugars in the juice and produces alcohol. The enzymes in yeast break down sugar (glucose) into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas Glucose yeast ethanol + carbon dioxide C6H12O6[aq] yeast 2C2H5OH[aq] + 2CO2[g] Fermentation works best if the yeast and glucose solution are kept warm.

We use the fermentation reaction to make all alcoholic drinks. However, stronger drinks such as whisky or vodka have to be distilled after fermentation to increase the concentration of the ethanol in the fermented mixture. This is because the ethanol poisons the yeast and stops it working when its concentration builds up to about 18 percent by volume. We also use fermentation in bakeries to make bread.

Other Products Made By Using Enzymes

S/N 1

Industry Confectioner y

Function of enzyme Break down starch syrup into glucose syrup (carbohydrase are used); change glucose into fructose which is sweeter, so less is needed and is used in slimming food (isomerase) Breakdown sucrose into glucose and

fructose; make artificial sweeteners. 2 Baby food Start off digestion of food (protease and lipase) 3 4 Fruit juice Biological detergents Make the juice clear (pectinase) Break down stains (proteases attacks

proteins and lipases attack fats) Softens fabrics (cellulases breakdown the bobbly bits that can form)

5 6

Meat Medical

Make the meat tender Treat cancers, make drugs such as

synthetic penicillin

There are many other uses of enzymes in the new biotechnology industries. Their uses have been made more profitable by finding ways to use them over and over again by immobilising them.