A Brief History of Enzymology

Life depends on a well-orchestrated series of chemical reactions. Many of these reactions, however, proceed too slowly on their own to sustain life. Hence nature has designed catalysts, which we now refer to as enzymes, to greatly accelerate the rates of these chemical reactions. The catalytic power of enzymes facilitates life processes in essentially all life-forms from viruses to man. Many enzymes retain their catalytic potential after extraction from the living organism, and it did not take long for mankind to recognize and exploit the catalytic power of enzyme for commercial purposes. In fact, the earliest known references to enzymes are from ancient texts dealing with the manufacture of cheeses, breads, and alcoholic beverages, and for the tenderizing of meats.

Today enzymes continue to play key roles in many food and beverage manufacturing processes and are ingredients in numerous consumer products, such as laundry detergents (which dissolve protein-based stains with the help of proteolytic enzymes). Enzymes are also of fundamental interest in the health sciences, since many disease processes can be linked to the aberrant activities of one or a few enzymes. Hence, much of modern pharmaceutical research is based on the search for potent and specific inhibitors of these enzymes.

The study of enzymes and the action of enzymes has thus fascinated scientists since the dawn of history, not only to satisfy erudite interest but also because of the utility of such knowledge for many practical needs of society. This brief chapter sets the stage for our studies of these remarkable catalysts by providing a historic background of the development of enzymology as a science. We shall see that while enzymes are today the focus of basic academic research, much of the early history of enzymology is linked to the practical application of enzyme activity in industry.

From: Enzymes: A Practical Introduction to Structure, Mechanism, and Data Analysis.
Robert A. Copeland