BMB 401 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Unpaired Electron, Gas Constant, Oxidative Phosphorylation
Document Summary
Some examples of micronutrients are vitamins that are fat soluble (a, d, e) and water soluble (b12). Minerals and trace elements are critical in enzymatic reactions such and these include mg, ca, cu, fe and zn. In catabolic pathways, nutrients are broken down and energy is released and then stored by synthesizing atp (from adp) and nadh (from nad+). In anabolic pathways these energy reservoirs are used to drive reactions to help synthesize biomolecules. In this way catabolism and anabolism are coupled together. Without enzymes many reactions would not occur because they would be unable to overcome the free energy barrier. Enzymes bind and lower this free energy barrier and cause reactions to proceed much quicker which is essential. Some reactions would proceed just very slowly and so enzymes help fix this. By being able to tightly regulate enzyme function the body can turn pathways on and off and fine tune responses accordingly.