Amylase At Extreme Temperatures example essay topic

Amylase and Starch experiment We took 3 trays, the name for the trays I have forgotten but they had about 12 small craters in each. We put a couple of drops of iodine into each crater. Then we took a syringe and filled it up to the 10 mark with starch solution, then, with the same syringe we sucked up a further 5 of amylase. We took a stopwatch and every 30 seconds we put a drop from the syringe into one of the craters and recorded the colour. To begin with, the resultant colour was black, indicating a high presence of starch.

This is no surprise, the syringe was 2/3 rds full of it. However, after about 5 minutes of this, we noticed that the colour was getting lighter. The black became a dark brown, which then became a light brown and got ever lighter until Mr Bishop told us to stop the experiment. From this we can see that the starch level dropped considerably the more time we gave it, we can conclude that Amylase is a starch digesting enzyme. Then we repeated the experiment, but with a difference. Into the usual syringe we added a large amount of salt as well.

This created a huge difference, no sooner had we put a drop into the iodine, most of the starch had already gone and our first reading was not black as before but light brown. The colour got lighter and lighter at a very fast rate until there was almost no starch at all. From this we can see that the presence of salt makes Amylase digest starch faster. This could be for one of two reasons, either the salt itself breaks up the starch or the salt stimulates the active sites on the amylase enzymes. The second of the two is actually the correct one. Amylase is an important metabolic enzyme.

Its function is to catalyze the hydrolysis of starch into glucose. This particular enzyme, which is found in all mammals, speeds up specific digestive processes which take place along the digestive track running from the mouth to the small intestines. Amylase's essential role in digestion makes it an attractive prospect for research. The human body must be kept within several degrees of 37^0 Celsius for biological functions to continue working. If body heat exceeds 37^0 C by too much cells become impaired or permanently damaged, at lower temperature metabolism decreases without permanent damage until ice crystals form in the cells. Amylase enzyme: the effects of temperature Amylase is an important metabolic enzyme.

What happens to Amylase at extreme temperatures? Perhaps the answer to that question will give insight into metabolism's reaction to low temperatures. There are over 700 enzymes which have currently been identified. An enzyme is defined as a catalyst which increases the rate of a metabolic reaction.

Most enzymes are specific, meaning that they only work on a particular reaction or class of reactions. Many industrial processes make use of enzymes to create their products. Yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, and cottage cheese are just a few of the many products enzymes are used to make. Denaturing is defined as a major change from the native state to another state without changing the primary structure. Enzyme denaturation usually leaves the enzyme without its catalytic functions. There are three factors which can denature an enzyme: temperature, pH, and ion concentration.

Amylase does not become denatured at extreme cold (approx. 0^0 C) nor at room temperature (approx. 25^0 C). However, at an elevated temperature of approximately 100^0 C amylase does become denatured. When substances are exposed to high heats the atoms bounce more quickly and hit each other with greater force than they do at lower temperatures. High temperature often causes irreversible damage to the molecular structure of enzymes due to the velocity with which the atoms move about.

Low temperatures by themselves do not appear to cause damage to enzymes. One controversy which is currently present over heat denaturation on enzymes is the heat-shock theory. Paul Benson and Mark Brod l from Knox college conducted an experiment where alpha-amylase was exposed to progressively higher temperatures over the course of a couple days and the enzyme was not denatured. This could be interpreted in the fact that the molecules habituate to the fast moving atoms when the temperature is raised slowly and are not damaged. In nature, extreme low temperatures often occur due to climate, yet extreme hot temperatures aren't prevalent. It is possible that enzymes can not withstand extreme high temperatures because they did not evolve to do so.

Perhaps amylase evolved to handle low temperatures because those who did not were denatured thus never passing on their characteristics. Cold temperature is similar to what cold blooded animals face in winter every year. The amylase cells which could not handle the cold died. Conversely the boiling presented conditions which amylase was not prepared to deal with. that the enzyme is denatured at high temperatures. Denatured amylase no longer catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch into glucose. Title: Amylase enzyme: the effects of temperature Description: Amylase is an important metabolic enzyme.

At high temperatures, Amylase becomes denatured, denatured amylase no longer catalyzes the hydrolysis of starch into glucose.