Question

Enzyme differ from catalysts in being sensitive to

• A. Poisons
• B. Change in pH
• C. High temperature
• D. All the above

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

Poisons

Enzymes differ from catalysts in being sensitive to poisons. The action of poisons on enzymes slows certain features of interest. In some cases poisons first stimulate and then inhibit enzyme action while in others an initial inhibition is followed by the enhanced activity. These molecules which decrease the activity of enzymes are known as inhibitors. In case of non-competitive inhibitor, the binding takes place at some other site than the substrate and the reaction never reaches its maximum rate despite the presence of a lot of substrates because the enzyme has been poisoned by the inhibitor.

Thus, the correct answer is option A.