6 Factor Affecting Enzyme Activity Short Notes

In this article we will discuss about Factors affecting enzyme activity:- 1.Temperature 2.Hydrogen Ion Concentration (pH) 3.Substrate Concentration 4.Water 5.Accumulation of End Products and 6.Inhibitors

1. Temperature

• Enzymes are sensitive to temperature
• Optimum temperature is 25′-40′
• Low temperature enzymes are inactivates
• High temperature enzymes are denatures

2. Hydrogen Ion Concentration (pH)

• Different enzymes have different optimum pH
• Some enzyme prefer acidic pH for Optimum activity E.g. Pepsin (pH 1.2-1.8)
• Some enzyme prefer alkaline pH for Optimum activity E.g. Trypsin (pH 8.6-8.8)
• Some enzyme prefer Neutral pH for Optimum activity E.g. amylase (pH 6.8)

3. Substrate Concentration

• Increase in the substrate concentration increases the activity of the enzyme until all the active sites of the enzyme molecule are saturated with the substrate.
• After this saturation the rate of enzymatic reaction becomes steady.
• Then, the addition of the substrate will not have a positive effect on the velocity of reaction.

4. Water

• Enzyme activity is suppressed in the absence of water
• In dry seeds, the enzymes are almost inactive

5. Accumulation of End Products

• The end product accumulation retards the enzymatic activity
• The active sites of the enzymes become crowded with the products
• Thus, the substrate molecules will have comparatively lesser chances of combining with the active sites

6. Inhibitors

• Inhibitors in the reaction can inhibit enzymatic activity
• Inhibitors are of different types: i) Competitive inhibitors ii) Noncompetitive inhibitors and iii) Allosteric inhibitors