Enzymes are specialized molecules found only in living things (the ones in biological washing powders are extracted from living things). They are absolutely essential to life, because they make specific chemical reactions happen. For example, they join other molecules together to build up the cells that make up living bodies. They also break down food (digestive enzymes), so that the energy it contains can be utilized, and break down toxins (detoxification enzymes) to make them harmless. They transform surplus food into fat stores, or break down the fat to yield energy when food is short.

Although they cannot be seen, even under a microscope, there are hundreds of thousands of different enzymes in the human body. Each enzyme has a very specific job to do: most of them only control one reaction, although others are slightly more versatile. For example, some of the digestive enzymes can break

down a variety of food molecules of the same general type. Enzymes themselves are controlled by smaller molecules which can turn a particular enzyme on or off.

Enzymes are just one type of protein molecule. Like all proteins, enzymes are made according to an inherited pattern which is passed on from parent to child. This pattern is stored in the genetic material, the DNA. In fact, DNA acts as a template, from which all enzymes and other protein molecules are made. If there is a change in the DNA – a mutation – then the enzyme which is coded for by that part of the DNA will be altered. Usually these changes are for the worse, and the enzyme does not work as well as the original version. What sort of effect this enzyme defect has will depend on how important the enzyme is, what sort of reaction it controls and how badly it has been affected. Defective enzymes may play a part in food intolerance.

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